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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stock — shares
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — music
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. rest — what's left
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. firm — a company
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. firm — decided
  15. cell — in biology
  16. pop — soda
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. firm — steady
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stock — goods
  22. cell — a phone
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cell — in a prison

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