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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. mate — a friend
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. stock — goods
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bore — to drill
  12. pit — a hole
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. mate — a partner
  15. squash — to crush
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. stock — shares
  18. squash — the sport
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. bowl — a football final

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