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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pop — music
  4. spell — letters
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. drill — army training
  7. pop — soda
  8. drill — a practice
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stock — goods
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. net — after costs
  15. drill — the tool
  16. season — of the year
  17. net — for catching
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stock — shares
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. spell — magic
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. spell — a short time
  24. season — in sport

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