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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. toast — bread
  3. fine — all right
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. rock — a stone
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. spell — magic
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spell — letters
  23. rock — music
  24. ball — a round shape

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