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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. rule — government
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to sink
  7. stock — goods
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. clip — for paper
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. clip — a video
  13. bore — to tire
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bore — to drill
  16. shower — to wash
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. clip — to cut
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rule — a law
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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