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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 124 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lean — thin
  3. hand — help
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. stock — shares
  7. rule — government
  8. prune — to trim
  9. hand — in cards
  10. firm — steady
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. firm — a company
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stock — goods
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. chest — a box
  20. lean — to bend
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rule — a law
  24. firm — decided

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