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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 120 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. season — in sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. last — finally
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. last — final
  9. content — happy
  10. stock — goods
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bat — the animal
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. last — to go on
  20. content — the amount
  21. season — of the year
  22. stock — shares
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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