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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 water is too ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bound — certain
  3. object — a thing
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. object — to protest
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. object — an aim
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rest — what's left
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. stock — goods
  13. face — to point toward
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. stock — shares
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bound — obliged
  24. jam — in traffic

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