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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: cell · bowl · mate · ball · mine · saw · stock · kid

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. ball — a great time
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. ball — a dance
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mate — to breed
  14. stock — shares
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cell — a phone
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. kid — child
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bowl — a dish

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