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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. last — final
  5. capital — money
  6. cell — a phone
  7. lie — to recline
  8. stock — goods
  9. rock — music
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. last — finally
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — a city
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. rock — a stone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. last — to go on
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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