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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. stock — shares
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mate — to breed
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. shower — rain
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. rule — a law
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rule — government
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stock — goods
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. stock — a soup base

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