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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. present — the time now
  5. file — a line of people
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stock — shares
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. ball — a dance
  11. vault — a safe
  12. ball — a great time
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. file — a tool
  16. present — there
  17. season — of the year
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. stock — goods
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. net — for catching
  22. file — a document
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. present — a gift

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