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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chair — a leader
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. march — music
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. rush — hurry
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. march — the month
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. march — the month
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — shares
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chair — a professorship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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