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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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 — a penalty
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cell — in biology
  4. staff — employees
  5. band — a music group
  6. fine — high quality
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. scale — in music
  13. season — in sport
  14. scale — size or range
  15. staff — employees
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. season — of the year
  18. stock — shares
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. fine — all right
  21. cell — a phone
  22. stock — goods
  23. scale — for weighing
  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