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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. stock — goods
  12. season — in sport
  13. pop — music
  14. bound — certain
  15. season — of the year
  16. pop — soda
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. stock — shares
  24. wake — before a funeral

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