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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — a trail
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tube — a container
  11. can — to be able to
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stock — goods
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stock — shares
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. bat — the animal
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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