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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · bore · stock · ruler · bass · bat · row · bear

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. stock — shares
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. stock — goods
  14. row — a line
  15. capital — money
  16. bass — low music
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bore — to drill
  21. capital — a city
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bass — the fish

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