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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ground — crushed
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stock — goods
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fall — to drop
  11. saw — the tool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ground — a position
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fall — the season
  18. racket — for tennis

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