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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stock — shares
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bore — to drill
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fine — all right
  14. stock — goods
  15. mate — to breed
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — a video
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bore — to tire
  21. mate — a partner
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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