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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. pit — a hole
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. roll — a list
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. branch — a division
  12. rush — hurry
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. mine — for digging
  20. roll — a cake
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pit — in a race
  23. branch — of a bank
  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