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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. fork — in a road
  4. can — a tin
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. scale — in music
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mine — for digging
  12. stock — shares
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. can — to be able to
  15. stock — goods
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. can — a tin
  23. cell — a phone
  24. scale — for weighing

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