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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 116 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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. stock — shares
  3. rest — a break
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rest — what's left
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stock — goods
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — an illness
  24. row — to paddle

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