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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stock — shares
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a document
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. dip — to sink
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. file — a line of people
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. file — a tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. fork — in a road
  22. stock — goods
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — to keep secret

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