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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. fine — all right
  4. roll — a list
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stock — shares
  7. roll — a cake
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — goods
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bound — tied together
  13. spell — letters
  14. bound — obliged
  15. fine — high quality
  16. spell — magic
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. bound — certain
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fine — a penalty

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