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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. saw — the tool
  4. row — a line
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. track — a song
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. season — in sport
  14. track — to keep track
  15. spring — the season
  16. season — of the year
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. row — to paddle
  20. saw — the tool
  21. march — the month
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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