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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. season — in sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. last — final
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rule — a law
  14. rule — government
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. stock — goods
  18. last — to go on
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. stock — shares
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bear — the animal
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. last — finally

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