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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stock — goods
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. current — electric
  9. rest — what's left
  10. march — the month
  11. rest — a break
  12. march — the month
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. current — happening now
  15. game — a match
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. march — music
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. current — of water
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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