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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. squash — the sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. face — part of the head
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. capital — money
  9. stock — shares
  10. scale — in music
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. capital — a city
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. face — to confront
  20. pound — a weight
  21. stock — goods
  22. season — in sport
  23. face — to point toward
  24. scale — size or range

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