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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. court — of a king
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. court — of law
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. court — for sport
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. chest — a box
  17. cold — not warm
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bay — a horse colour

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