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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. scale — size or range
  4. stock — shares
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. stock — goods
  7. chair — a leader
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. band — a music group
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. scale — in music
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chair — a professorship

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