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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. game — a match
  3. bore — to tire
  4. game — wild animals
  5. root — the cause
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. root — of a word
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. race — a contest
  18. dip — to sink
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. race — humankind
  22. root — of a plant
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bat — the animal

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