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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. net — after costs
  3. stock — shares
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. stock — goods
  7. bass — low music
  8. spring — the season
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. court — of a king
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. spring — of water
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bore — to drill
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. court — for sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. court — of law
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. spring — a coil
  22. net — in sport
  23. bore — to tire
  24. mine — an explosive

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