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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · bear · cue · straw · wind · mine · perch · stock

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cue — for pool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bear — the animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wind — moving air
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bear — the animal
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chest — of your body
  17. perch — the fish
  18. mine — for digging
  19. chest — a box
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cue — a signal
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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