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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. court — of a king
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rule — a law
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rule — government
  13. bat — the animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. face — part of the head
  17. court — of law
  18. face — to confront
  19. bear — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stock — shares
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. court — for sport
  24. bear — to put up with

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