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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's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. tube — a container
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bore — to drill
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. staff — a stick
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. clip — to cut
  11. tube — the underground
  12. bore — to tire
  13. stock — shares
  14. clip — for paper
  15. lie — to recline
  16. ground — a position
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — a video
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. stock — goods
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. staff — employees

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