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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. roll — a cake
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. last — to go on
  7. roll — a list
  8. mate — a friend
  9. stock — shares
  10. mate — to breed
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. last — finally
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. drill — army training
  15. land — ground
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. drill — a practice
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. stock — goods
  23. last — final
  24. jam — in traffic

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