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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. stock — goods
  3. spell — letters
  4. march — music
  5. spell — magic
  6. mug — a cup
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. march — the month
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. tube — a container
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. march — the month
  18. stock — shares
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. shower — rain
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ball — a dance
  24. stock — a soup base

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