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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. board — a committee
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. stock — goods
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lean — thin
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. lean — to bend
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. board — to get on
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. arm — part of the body

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