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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. chest — of your body
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chest — of your body
  5. shower — rain
  6. stock — goods
  7. object — to protest
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. object — an aim
  18. chest — a box
  19. mark — a trace
  20. row — a line
  21. stock — shares
  22. row — to paddle
  23. object — a thing
  24. stock — a soup base

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