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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. spell — letters
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. ball — a great time
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. spell — magic
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. mark — a trace
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mark — a grade
  17. spell — a short time
  18. season — in sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. ball — a dance
  23. season — of the year
  24. pop — soda

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