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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: charge · arm · bowl · mate · cell · dip · stock · drill

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. mate — to breed
  3. stock — shares
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. charge — a price
  6. dip — to sink
  7. drill — army training
  8. mate — a partner
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cell — in biology
  14. charge — electricity
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. charge — in control
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. stock — goods
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — to roll

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