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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stock — shares
  4. net — for catching
  5. spring — the season
  6. wake — a trail
  7. swing — music
  8. net — after costs
  9. game — wild animals
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. game — a match
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. season — of the year
  14. swing — in golf
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. season — in sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. swing — to play on
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. stock — goods

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