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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. stock — shares
  6. bear — the animal
  7. game — wild animals
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. game — a match
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. pass — a permit
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. bore — to tire
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. degree — temperature
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bore — to drill
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. stock — goods
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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