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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pop — soda
  9. stock — goods
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — in sport
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. season — of the year
  14. mug — a face
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. chair — a leader
  18. saw — the tool
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stock — shares
  24. cold — an illness

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