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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. net — after costs
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. tube — a container
  7. stock — shares
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. stock — goods
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rule — a law
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. hand — help
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. net — for catching
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. net — in sport
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. hand — in cards

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