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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stock — shares
  3. season — of the year
  4. drill — a practice
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. game — a match
  7. pit — in a race
  8. drill — the tool
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. game — wild animals
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. stock — goods
  15. ball — a great time
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. hand — in cards
  19. ground — a position
  20. pit — a hole
  21. ground — the earth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. drill — army training
  24. season — in sport

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