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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rule — government
  4. staff — employees
  5. stock — shares
  6. rule — a law
  7. ground — a position
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. stock — goods
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. ground — the earth
  17. key — in music
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. key — for a lock
  20. staff — a stick
  21. ground — crushed
  22. key — the most important part
  23. staff — employees
  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