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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bore — to tire
  7. stock — goods
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stock — shares
  12. charge — in control
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. game — a match
  16. charge — a price
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. game — wild animals
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. charge — electricity
  22. bore — to drill
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mine — for digging

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