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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spell — a short time
  4. game — a match
  5. net — after costs
  6. stock — shares
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. spell — magic
  10. game — wild animals
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spell — letters
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. lean — thin
  19. pass — a permit
  20. band — a music group
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. lean — to bend
  24. band — a ring

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