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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. net — in sport
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bat — the animal
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stock — goods
  9. net — after costs
  10. stock — shares
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bear — the animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. rule — a law
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rule — government
  21. net — for catching
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. lean — thin

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