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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stock — goods
  3. fine — all right
  4. roll — a list
  5. spell — a short time
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. drill — a practice
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. spell — letters
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stock — shares
  14. drill — army training
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. spell — magic
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. drill — the tool
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. roll — a cake
  23. squash — the sport
  24. fine — high quality

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