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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. swing — music
  6. stock — goods
  7. bound — certain
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. swing — in golf
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rash — a series
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cell — in biology
  15. rash — hasty
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bound — obliged
  18. rest — a break
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bound — tied together
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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