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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. scale — size or range
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stock — goods
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. hand — in cards
  16. plane — a tool
  17. fall — the season
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bark — to shout
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. straw — a straw man

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