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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. fine — all right
  14. kick — in football
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rash — a series
  18. stock — shares
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. net — after costs
  21. game — a match
  22. fine — high quality
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stock — goods

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