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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. drill — army training
  6. season — in sport
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. present — there
  9. stock — goods
  10. drill — a practice
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stock — shares
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. snap — to click
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — the time now
  20. season — of the year
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. stand — to bear
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. drill — the tool

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