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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. file — a line of people
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. stock — goods
  8. season — in sport
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cue — for pool
  12. capital — a city
  13. cue — a signal
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. sharp — clever
  16. track — to keep track
  17. file — a document
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. file — a tool
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. track — a song
  22. capital — money
  23. stock — shares
  24. track — a path

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