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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. stock — goods
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bulb — for light
  8. snap — to click
  9. shower — rain
  10. bulb — for light
  11. season — of the year
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. fine — all right
  15. court — of a king
  16. stock — shares
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. season — in sport
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pass — a permit
  24. pass — to spend time

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