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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. march — music
  3. sharp — clever
  4. object — to protest
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — shares
  8. object — a thing
  9. cold — an illness
  10. season — in sport
  11. cue — for pool
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. march — the month
  17. season — of the year
  18. stock — goods
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cue — a hint
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. object — an aim
  24. march — the month

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