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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. charge — electricity
  3. season — in sport
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. stock — shares
  9. spring — the season
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. season — of the year
  14. stock — goods
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. spring — a coil
  18. charge — in control
  19. mark — a trace
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. charge — a price
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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