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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: stock · mine · cap · game · bat · mouse · leaves · lie

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cap — a lid
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. game — a match
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. stock — goods
  18. game — wild animals
  19. lie — to recline
  20. mine — for digging
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stock — shares
  24. cap — a hat

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