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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bat — the animal
  3. court — of a king
  4. stock — goods
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. charge — a price
  8. toast — bread
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. charge — electricity
  11. stock — shares
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — to handle
  16. charge — in control
  17. court — of law
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. court — for sport
  24. stock — a soup base

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