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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bulb — for light
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pass — a permit
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. scale — in music
  10. stock — shares
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bulb — of a plant
  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