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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mate — a partner
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. chest — a box
  8. mate — to breed
  9. chip — for betting
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stock — shares
  12. net — after costs
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. hand — help
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stock — goods
  19. mate — a friend
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chip — to eat
  24. mine — an explosive

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