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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. game — wild animals
  6. present — there
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. wound — an injury
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. spring — of water
  13. present — a gift
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. game — a match
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spring — the season
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. present — the time now
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. wake — a trail

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