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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 124 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pop — soda
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lie — to recline
  6. rule — a law
  7. stock — shares
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bat — the animal
  11. drill — army training
  12. craft — boats
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rule — government
  17. drill — the tool
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. drill — a practice
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. craft — a skill

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