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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. tube — the underground
  3. staff — a stick
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stock — shares
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. staff — employees
  8. stock — goods
  9. drill — army training
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tube — a container
  13. shower — rain
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. shower — to wash
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — to breed
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. drill — the tool
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. staff — employees

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