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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. stock — shares
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. net — for catching
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. chest — a box
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. mark — a trace
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hand — help
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. stock — goods
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ball — a dance
  20. mark — a grade
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. saw — the tool
  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