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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. roll — a cake
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mine — for digging
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. season — of the year
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. season — in sport
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. firm — steady
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — a company
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mine — belonging to me

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