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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  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. hand — help
  2. spell — a short time
  3. present — there
  4. spell — letters
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. present — a gift
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — in cards
  12. season — of the year
  13. march — the month
  14. season — in sport
  15. present — the time now
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. spell — magic
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. march — the month
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. branch — a division
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. march — music
  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