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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. spell — letters
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. shower — rain
  6. stock — goods
  7. object — a thing
  8. spring — a coil
  9. object — to protest
  10. shower — to wash
  11. spell — a short time
  12. swing — in golf
  13. object — an aim
  14. spell — magic
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. swing — to play on
  17. stock — shares
  18. swing — music

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