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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bass — low music
  6. stock — shares
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. last — to go on
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. last — final
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. stock — goods
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. last — finally
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — 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