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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. charge — electricity
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cell — a phone
  9. squash — to crush
  10. charge — a price
  11. key — the most important part
  12. land — ground
  13. key — for a lock
  14. land — a country
  15. charge — in control
  16. wind — moving air
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. key — in music
  20. squash — the sport
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. land — to come down

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