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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 116 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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cell — in biology
  7. stock — goods
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. present — there
  10. stock — shares
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. cold — an illness
  13. present — a gift
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cell — a phone
  16. club — a group
  17. present — the time now
  18. ground — a position
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. scale — in music
  22. club — for golf
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stock — a soup base

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