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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mug — a cup
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. spell — letters
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. last — to go on
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. mug — a face
  10. stock — shares
  11. file — a document
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. last — final
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. last — finally
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. stock — goods
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mug — to rob
  24. leaves — of a tree

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