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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. stock — shares
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. last — to go on
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. last — final
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. season — of the year
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. sharp — clever
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stock — goods
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. last — finally
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cell — in biology

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