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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: bat · stock · bowl · pass · foot · wind · bore · content

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. content — happy
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pass — a permit
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — goods
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bore — to tire
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bat — for baseball

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