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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. craft — boats
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. shower — to wash
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. shower — rain
  10. stock — shares
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rock — a stone
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. capital — a city
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. rock — music
  18. capital — money
  19. rule — a law
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. craft — a skill
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. rule — government

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