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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. spring — a coil
  3. ground — a position
  4. stock — goods
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fine — all right
  7. spring — of water
  8. kick — in football
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. key — in music
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. spring — the season
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. key — for a lock
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. key — the most important part
  24. ground — the earth

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