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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. mark — a trace
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spring — of water
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. mark — a grade
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pass — a permit
  18. spring — the season
  19. sharp — clever
  20. plane — a tool
  21. chest — a box
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. chest — of your body

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