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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. rash — a series
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. squash — to crush
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stock — shares
  14. rash — hasty
  15. stock — goods
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. chest — a box
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. ground — crushed
  24. chest — of your body

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