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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stock — goods
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mate — to breed
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. spell — magic
  10. mine — for digging
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bore — to drill
  15. mate — a partner
  16. stock — shares
  17. mate — a friend
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. court — for sport
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bore — to tire
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bore — gave birth

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