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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. mate — a friend
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. stock — goods
  9. mate — to breed
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. mate — a partner
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. branch — a division
  20. game — a match
  21. wind — moving air
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. stock — shares
  24. bound — tied together

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