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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. clip — a video
  5. key — for a lock
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mine — for digging
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. key — in music
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. snap — to click
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stock — shares
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. key — the most important part
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bore — to drill
  20. stock — goods
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. clip — for paper

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