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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. last — to go on
  3. club — for golf
  4. foot — a measure
  5. bank — for money
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. club — for dancing
  8. stock — shares
  9. last — final
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. land — ground
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. last — finally
  15. season — of the year
  16. bank — for money
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. season — in sport
  20. bank — of a river
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. club — a group
  24. drill — army training

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