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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. court — of law
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. squash — the sport
  8. board — a committee
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. file — a line of people
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. kid — child
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. court — of a king
  15. squash — to crush
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. file — a tool
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. court — for sport
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. file — a document

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