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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: snap · game · bore · stock · toast · field · sharp · arm

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bore — to drill
  3. toast — bread
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. game — a match
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bore — to tire
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. sharp — clever
  11. field — a subject
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. stock — shares
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. snap — to click
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. field — for sport
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. field — farmland
  22. game — wild animals
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. game — a kind of play

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