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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — not warm
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. stock — shares
  13. hand — help
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — an illness
  19. land — a country
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lie — an untruth
  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