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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. face — part of the head
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. face — to point toward
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. ball — a dance
  9. net — after costs
  10. swing — to play on
  11. stock — goods
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. net — in sport
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. net — for catching
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bat — the animal
  18. swing — in golf
  19. face — to confront
  20. ball — a great time
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. swing — music
  23. stock — a soup base
  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