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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. stock — goods
  4. season — of the year
  5. roll — a list
  6. mate — to breed
  7. season — in sport
  8. key — the most important part
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mine — for digging
  14. key — in music
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a cake
  22. key — for a lock
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bat — for baseball

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