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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mate — a friend
  3. court — for sport
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. deal — to handle
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bound — obliged
  12. mate — a partner
  13. bound — certain
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stock — goods
  17. bound — tied together
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. stock — shares
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cold — an illness

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