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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pop — to visit
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pop — music
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stock — goods
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. march — music
  11. present — there
  12. stock — shares
  13. mate — to breed
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. mate — a friend
  16. shower — rain
  17. cold — an illness
  18. deal — to handle
  19. march — the month
  20. pop — soda
  21. present — the time now
  22. mate — a partner
  23. shower — to wash
  24. present — a gift

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