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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. drill — a practice
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. stock — shares
  6. last — to go on
  7. fine — high quality
  8. stock — goods
  9. season — of the year
  10. last — finally
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. fine — all right
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. season — in sport
  15. stem — to come from
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. fine — a penalty

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