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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stock — goods
  5. swing — in golf
  6. mate — to breed
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. swing — music
  9. stock — shares
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. march — the month
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. land — ground
  17. mate — a partner
  18. march — the month
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. march — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. lash — to lash out

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