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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. season — in sport
  3. fine — high quality
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. march — the month
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. march — music
  8. season — of the year
  9. race — the arms race
  10. fine — all right
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. game — wild animals
  13. march — the month
  14. bass — low music
  15. race — humankind
  16. bass — the fish
  17. game — a match
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. race — a contest
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. season — to add flavour

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