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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 124 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. row — a line
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. board — a committee
  6. game — a match
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. game — wild animals
  11. board — to get on
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. fork — in a road
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. kid — child
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stock — goods
  24. fork — to eat 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