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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mate — to breed
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bound — obliged
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stock — shares
  9. ground — crushed
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. ground — a position
  12. bound — tied together
  13. snap — to click
  14. bound — certain
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mate — a partner
  17. saw — the tool
  18. shower — rain
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — to wash
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. ground — the earth

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