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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. row — to paddle
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. cell — in biology
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitch — completely
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stock — goods
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bound — certain
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. saw — the tool
  22. row — a line
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. fork — in a road

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