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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. ball — a great time
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. shower — rain
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. season — of the year
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. season — in sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. shower — to wash
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. ball — a dance

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