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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pit — in a race
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. scale — in music
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cell — a phone
  20. scale — size or range
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stock — shares

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