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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stock — goods
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — a stone
  8. staff — employees
  9. board — a committee
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cell — a phone
  14. staff — a stick
  15. board — to get on
  16. stock — shares
  17. cell — in biology
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. chest — a box
  21. staff — employees
  22. rock — music
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. wake — a trail

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