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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. stock — shares
  3. chest — of your body
  4. deal — to handle
  5. spell — letters
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. stock — goods
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. ball — a dance
  10. chest — a box
  11. spell — magic
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. ball — a great time
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. sharp — with an edge
  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