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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. snap — to click
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. fine — all right
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. board — a committee
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spell — magic
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fine — high quality
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. stock — goods
  18. board — to get on
  19. stock — shares
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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