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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: arm · game · stock · bat · net · spell · mate · mouse

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mate — to breed
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. game — a match
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mate — a friend
  7. net — for catching
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. stock — goods
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. stock — shares
  12. net — after costs
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. spell — a short time
  15. mate — a partner
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — letters
  19. net — in sport
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bat — the animal

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