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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. snap — to click
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. hand — in cards
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. mate — a friend
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. rest — what's left
  14. hand — help
  15. stock — goods
  16. squash — the sport
  17. mate — a partner
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stock — shares
  20. rest — what's left
  21. squash — to crush
  22. mate — to breed
  23. rest — a break
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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