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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bat — the animal
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. file — a document
  8. stock — goods
  9. stand — to bear
  10. row — to paddle
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. dip — to sink
  13. row — a line
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mate — a friend
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. file — a tool
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. stock — shares

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