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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — magic
  5. rule — a law
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. spell — letters
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. rule — government
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — music
  19. track — to keep track
  20. deal — to handle
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. stock — goods
  24. game — a match

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