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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. stock — shares
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bulb — for light
  6. roll — a cake
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. fine — all right
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. roll — a list
  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