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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 water is too ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. suit — to fit
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. suit — in cards
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. squash — to crush
  13. last — final
  14. squash — the sport
  15. season — in sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. season — of the year
  19. stock — goods
  20. suit — clothes
  21. stock — shares
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bat — the animal

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