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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 116 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. capital — money
  3. net — in sport
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mine — for digging
  9. net — after costs
  10. stock — goods
  11. capital — a city
  12. fall — to drop
  13. net — for catching
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. fall — the season
  19. stock — shares
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. kid — child
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bay — a horse colour

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