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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bat — the animal
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. land — a country
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. land — to come down
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wound — an injury
  20. land — ground
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. stock — goods

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