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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pop — music
  6. stock — goods
  7. club — a group
  8. stock — shares
  9. pop — to visit
  10. season — in sport
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. season — of the year
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. branch — a division
  15. pop — soda
  16. club — for golf
  17. can — a tin
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. club — for dancing
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. can — to be able to
  23. date — the fruit
  24. can — a tin

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