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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bear — the animal
  4. stock — goods
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stock — shares
  11. cold — not warm
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stand — to bear
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. chest — a box
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. chest — of your body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cold — an illness

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