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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. spring — the season
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pass — a permit
  7. game — a match
  8. pound — a weight
  9. land — ground
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. land — a country
  14. spring — of water
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stock — goods
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. stock — shares
  21. land — to come down
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. game — a kind of play

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