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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. stock — shares
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mate — to breed
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. roll — a list
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. roll — a cake
  12. swing — music
  13. spring — of water
  14. stock — goods
  15. lean — to bend
  16. swing — in golf
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. lean — thin
  20. foot — a measure
  21. spring — a coil
  22. mate — a friend
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. swing — to play on

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