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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stock — goods
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. bore — to tire
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. tear — from crying
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — low music
  16. stock — shares
  17. capital — a city
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. capital — money

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