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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. march — music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stock — goods
  5. bass — low music
  6. march — the month
  7. land — to come down
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. march — the month
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bass — the fish
  15. land — a country
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. land — ground
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. spell — magic
  22. stock — shares
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cold — an illness

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