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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. land — ground
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. land — a country
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. date — the fruit
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. season — of the year
  19. stock — goods
  20. land — to come down
  21. fine — all right
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. straw — dry grass

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