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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. net — for catching
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. stock — shares
  9. net — after costs
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bore — to drill
  12. present — a gift
  13. ball — a dance
  14. present — the time now
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stock — goods
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bore — to tire
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. race — a contest
  24. net — in sport

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