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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 116 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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stock — shares
  3. shower — to wash
  4. season — of the year
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. last — to go on
  7. stock — goods
  8. last — finally
  9. spell — letters
  10. season — in sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — a safe
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. spell — a short time
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. last — final
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. shower — rain
  22. spell — magic
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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