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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bat — the animal
  4. stock — shares
  5. plane — a tool
  6. board — a committee
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — an illness
  9. staff — a stick
  10. game — a match
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. board — to get on
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cold — not warm
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bat — in an idiom

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