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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. bound — certain
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. court — for sport
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. staff — employees
  8. court — of law
  9. bore — to drill
  10. staff — a stick
  11. court — of a king
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. staff — employees
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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