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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. last — to go on
  4. track — a song
  5. stock — shares
  6. season — in sport
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. spring — of water
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stock — goods
  12. last — finally
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. spring — a coil
  15. board — to get on
  16. squash — to crush
  17. spring — the season
  18. board — a committee
  19. track — a path
  20. last — final
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. track — to keep track
  24. toast — bread

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