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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mug — to rob
  4. season — in sport
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. spell — a short time
  7. stock — shares
  8. mug — a face
  9. root — of a plant
  10. spell — magic
  11. stock — goods
  12. spell — letters
  13. land — to come down
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. band — a music group
  16. mug — a cup
  17. band — a ring
  18. pass — a permit
  19. land — ground
  20. root — of a word
  21. land — a country
  22. season — of the year
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. root — the cause

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