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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bore — to tire
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stock — goods
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bore — to drill
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. stock — shares
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. swing — music
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. game — wild animals
  24. swing — in golf

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