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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. date — the fruit
  5. march — music
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. toast — bread
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stock — goods
  14. march — the month
  15. land — ground
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. land — to come down
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. land — a country
  20. march — the month
  21. stock — shares
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. ground — crushed

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