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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hand — in cards
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. stock — shares
  7. file — a document
  8. charge — in control
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stock — goods
  14. charge — a price
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. charge — electricity
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. swing — in golf
  20. swing — music
  21. toast — bread
  22. swing — to play on
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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