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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. season — of the year
  8. present — the time now
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. stem — to come from
  11. snap — to click
  12. season — in sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. present — a gift
  16. stock — goods
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stock — shares
  19. shower — rain
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. fine — all right
  23. present — there
  24. fine — high quality

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