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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. suit — clothes
  3. stock — shares
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. game — wild animals
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pop — to visit
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pop — music
  15. suit — to fit
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. suit — in cards
  18. pop — soda
  19. drill — the tool
  20. game — a match
  21. drill — a practice
  22. stock — goods
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. sharp — clever

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