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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. stock — goods
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wind — moving air
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. staff — employees
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. staff — employees

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