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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — goods
  5. ball — a dance
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. stock — shares
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. roll — a list
  11. face — part of the head
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. ball — a great time
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cell — a phone
  24. wind — moving air

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