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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. track — a path
  4. chest — of your body
  5. shower — rain
  6. stock — goods
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. track — to keep track
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — finally
  15. stock — shares
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. clip — to cut
  19. chest — a box
  20. track — a song
  21. clip — for paper
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. clip — a video
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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