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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. content — happy
  3. bass — low music
  4. season — in sport
  5. march — the month
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. content — the amount
  10. spell — magic
  11. season — of the year
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spell — letters
  14. march — music
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. march — the month
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stock — shares
  22. spell — a short time
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bass — the fish

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