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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pit — in a race
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pit — a hole
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bulb — for light
  16. shower — rain
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — to tire

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