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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. last — to go on
  4. date — the fruit
  5. last — final
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. last — finally
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. club — for golf
  12. cell — a phone
  13. pop — to visit
  14. club — for dancing
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pop — music
  19. stock — shares
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stock — goods
  24. club — a group

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