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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. season — of the year
  5. snap — to click
  6. march — music
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. stock — shares
  12. ground — the earth
  13. season — in sport
  14. bore — to drill
  15. march — the month
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bore — to tire
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. ground — a position
  22. march — the month
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a car

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