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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. vault — a safe
  4. court — for sport
  5. stock — goods
  6. can — to be able to
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. can — a tin
  15. court — of law
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bore — to drill
  18. shower — rain
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. can — a tin
  24. court — of a king

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