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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. scale — in music
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. stock — goods
  8. rule — government
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stock — shares
  11. mark — a trace
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mark — a grade
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rule — a law
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. scale — size or range
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — in a road
  23. row — a line
  24. march — music

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