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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 116 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. stock — goods
  3. season — of the year
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. staff — a stick
  8. rash — a series
  9. stock — shares
  10. rash — hasty
  11. staff — employees
  12. track — a song
  13. mine — for digging
  14. track — to keep track
  15. season — in sport
  16. staff — employees
  17. track — a path
  18. mine — belonging to me

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