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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mate — to breed
  7. club — a group
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. mate — a friend
  11. club — for dancing
  12. can — a tin
  13. kid — child
  14. club — for golf
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spell — letters
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — magic
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. spell — a short time
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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