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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. present — a gift
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. file — a line of people
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. file — a document
  13. present — the time now
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. file — a tool
  17. rash — hasty
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. present — there
  20. rash — a series
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stock — shares
  24. wind — moving air

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