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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. fall — the season
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mark — a trace
  7. stock — shares
  8. swing — to play on
  9. land — ground
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — a match
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. stock — goods
  16. mark — a grade
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. land — to come down
  20. swing — music
  21. land — a country
  22. fall — to drop
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. season — to add flavour

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