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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. staff — employees
  3. rule — government
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stock — goods
  6. last — to go on
  7. season — in sport
  8. rule — a law
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. wax — to grow
  11. last — finally
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. dip — to sink
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. fork — in a road
  18. last — final
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. staff — a stick
  23. season — of the year
  24. staff — employees

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