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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. pop — soda
  3. march — the month
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bat — the animal
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. pop — to visit
  10. stock — goods
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — shares
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. pop — music
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. toast — bread
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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