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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. game — a match
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spell — letters
  5. row — a line
  6. stock — goods
  7. row — to paddle
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. spell — magic
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. scale — size or range
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. game — wild animals
  20. spell — a short time
  21. scale — in music
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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