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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wound — an injury
  5. can — to be able to
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. can — a tin
  15. stock — shares
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. stock — goods

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