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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. scale — size or range
  5. last — final
  6. net — for catching
  7. bulb — for light
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bulb — for light
  12. stock — shares
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. stock — goods
  15. net — after costs
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. net — in sport
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pitch — completely
  24. last — to go on

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