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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. hand — help
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bore — to tire
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. spring — of water
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. bore — to drill
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spring — the season
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. spring — a coil

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