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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cell — in biology
  4. stock — shares
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pop — music
  11. rash — hasty
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pop — to visit
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bore — to tire
  20. spell — a short time
  21. rash — a series
  22. bore — to drill
  23. spell — magic
  24. bore — gave birth

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