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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. stock — shares
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. last — to go on
  4. mark — a trace
  5. last — finally
  6. file — a document
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pass — a permit
  10. mark — a grade
  11. file — a tool
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — not warm
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stock — goods
  17. last — final
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. season — of the year
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. sharp — clever
  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