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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. toast — bread
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bulb — for light
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bulb — for light
  18. lie — to recline
  19. game — a match
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. saw — the tool

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