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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. wound — an injury
  9. last — final
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. stock — shares
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. vault — a safe
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. stock — goods
  23. branch — a division
  24. wound — an injury

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