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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. march — music
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — the month
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rash — hasty
  11. chest — of your body
  12. date — the fruit
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mug — a face
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. mug — a cup
  18. march — the month
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mug — to rob
  21. stock — goods
  22. chest — a box
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stock — shares

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