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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. spell — letters
  5. wax — to grow
  6. stock — goods
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. stock — shares
  9. spring — the season
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. spell — magic
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — of the year
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bass — the fish
  23. spring — of water
  24. season — in sport

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