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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. mate — to breed
  3. fine — high quality
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. staff — a stick
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pop — music
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. staff — employees
  15. shower — rain
  16. staff — employees
  17. stock — shares
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mate — a friend
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — a soup base

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