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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. spell — a short time
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. field — for sport
  6. capital — money
  7. mate — a friend
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mate — to breed
  11. fine — all right
  12. stock — goods
  13. spell — letters
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. stock — shares
  16. pit — in a race
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. field — farmland
  19. pit — a hole
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. spell — magic
  22. field — a subject
  23. capital — a city
  24. stock — a soup base

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