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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mate — a friend
  5. snap — to click
  6. date — the fruit
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. mine — for digging
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cap — a lid
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mate — to breed
  13. field — farmland
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cap — a hat
  18. field — for sport
  19. mate — a partner
  20. field — a subject
  21. cap — of ice
  22. squash — the sport
  23. stock — goods
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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