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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a grade
  5. ground — crushed
  6. march — the month
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bass — the fish
  9. ground — the earth
  10. mark — a trace
  11. scale — size or range
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. march — music
  15. cue — for pool
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. march — the month
  18. bass — low music
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. ground — a position
  21. stock — goods
  22. scale — in music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. straw — a straw man

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