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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. shower — to wash
  3. game — a match
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. spring — of water
  9. last — final
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. last — finally
  15. wake — a trail
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. spring — the season
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. game — wild animals
  22. stock — shares
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. stock — goods

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