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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. season — in sport
  3. sharp — clever
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stock — shares
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. snap — to click
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. season — of the year
  23. stock — goods
  24. wax — for sculpting

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