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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. kid — child
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. field — for sport
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. band — a ring
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. field — a subject
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. chip — for betting
  14. stock — goods
  15. kid — to tease
  16. field — farmland
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. band — a music group
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bore — to tire
  24. stock — shares

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