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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chest — a box
  3. pop — soda
  4. present — a gift
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pop — music
  7. stock — shares
  8. wound — an injury
  9. present — the time now
  10. spell — magic
  11. present — there
  12. mate — a partner
  13. spring — the season
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. spell — letters
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — of water
  20. stock — goods
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mate — to breed
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. spell — a short time

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