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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. spring — the season
  4. bound — certain
  5. bore — to tire
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. suit — in cards
  9. suit — clothes
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bore — to drill
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stock — goods
  19. clip — a video
  20. mate — a partner
  21. spring — of water
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mate — to breed
  24. suit — to fit

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