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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 116 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 looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wound — an injury
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — electricity
  10. charge — in control
  11. stock — goods
  12. spring — of water
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. hand — help
  16. swing — in golf
  17. spring — the season
  18. spell — letters
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. spring — a coil
  21. swing — to play on
  22. dip — to sink
  23. swing — music
  24. dip — a sauce

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