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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. stock — shares
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. court — for sport
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rock — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bore — to drill
  13. perch — the fish
  14. stock — goods
  15. court — of a king
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rock — a stone
  18. court — of law
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. fall — the season
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. dip — to sink
  24. bore — to tire

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