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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 124 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. last — finally
  7. present — there
  8. stock — goods
  9. file — a line of people
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. net — in sport
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. season — of the year
  15. pass — a permit
  16. file — a tool
  17. last — final
  18. season — in sport
  19. last — to go on
  20. net — for catching
  21. file — a document
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. net — after costs

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