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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rest — a break
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rash — hasty
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. toast — bread
  13. rash — a series
  14. cell — a phone
  15. court — of law
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stock — goods
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. stock — shares
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com