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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. drill — the tool
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stock — shares
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. mate — a partner
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. stock — goods
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. drill — army training
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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