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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. roll — a cake
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stock — shares
  7. bat — the animal
  8. land — to come down
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. pitch — completely
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. roll — a list
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. stock — goods

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