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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spell — letters
  5. fork — in a road
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. march — the month
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. stock — shares
  11. ball — a dance
  12. spell — a short time
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — magic
  18. stock — goods
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — to keep secret

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