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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. stock — goods
  4. present — there
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. capital — money
  8. cold — an illness
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. perch — the fish
  11. lie — to recline
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — a city
  14. season — in sport
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. board — to get on
  18. present — a gift
  19. board — a committee
  20. stock — shares
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. season — of the year
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. present — the time now

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