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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. season — of the year
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. stock — goods
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. spring — of water
  8. track — a song
  9. ball — a dance
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. track — a path
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — the season
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. track — to keep track
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. ball — a great time
  21. dip — to sink
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. season — in sport

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