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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stock — goods
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. pitch — completely
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. clip — a video
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. clip — for paper
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stock — shares
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. clip — to cut
  23. rock — a stone
  24. last — final

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