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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. spell — magic
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stock — shares
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mark — a grade
  13. snap — to click
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. spell — a short time
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. ground — crushed
  22. mark — a trace
  23. spell — letters
  24. mine — for digging

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