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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rash — a series
  6. swing — music
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. stock — goods
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stock — shares
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rash — hasty
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. swing — to play on
  18. hand — help
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. fork — to eat with

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