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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. stock — goods
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. deal — to handle
  9. face — part of the head
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. face — to confront
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. face — to point toward
  15. season — in sport
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. bass — the fish
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. season — of the year

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