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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 120 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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mug — a cup
  4. court — of law
  5. rock — a stone
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — to rob
  8. clip — for paper
  9. land — to come down
  10. stock — shares
  11. land — ground
  12. clip — a video
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. court — of a king
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — a country
  17. rock — music
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. court — for sport
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — to cut

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