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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. stock — shares
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mate — to breed
  8. track — a path
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. track — a song
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. spring — a coil
  19. rash — a series
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stock — goods
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. rash — on the skin

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