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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. fall — the season
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. mate — a friend
  11. stock — shares
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. mate — a partner
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ball — a round shape

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