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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stand — to bear
  4. spell — letters
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. fine — high quality
  7. hand — help
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. fine — all right
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stock — shares
  12. pop — soda
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stock — goods
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — a short time

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