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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. squash — the sport
  3. ground — a position
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. spring — the season
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. rock — a stone
  10. ground — the earth
  11. bore — to drill
  12. spell — magic
  13. stock — goods
  14. spell — a short time
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. ground — crushed
  17. spring — of water
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. spell — letters
  21. spring — a coil
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rock — music

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