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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. pound — a weight
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chair — a leader
  8. can — a tin
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. stock — shares
  20. ground — a position
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ground — the earth
  24. snap — to click

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