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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 120 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stock — goods
  3. spring — of water
  4. can — a tin
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — to be able to
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. field — a subject
  14. pound — a weight
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. lie — to recline
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. stock — shares
  22. season — of the year
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. spring — a coil

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