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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ground — crushed
  6. chip — to eat
  7. rash — a series
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. season — of the year
  10. stock — goods
  11. bound — tied together
  12. rash — hasty
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ground — the earth
  19. chip — for betting
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. ground — a position
  23. season — in sport
  24. bat — the animal

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