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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. chest — a box
  3. net — for catching
  4. current — electric
  5. court — of law
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. net — after costs
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — of water
  11. net — in sport
  12. lean — thin
  13. chest — of your body
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stock — shares
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. lean — to bend
  21. stock — goods
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of a king

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