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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. net — in sport
  3. stock — shares
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. march — the month
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. net — for catching
  9. march — music
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. stock — goods
  15. net — after costs
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — the sport
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. squash — to crush
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. march — the month
  24. stock — a soup base

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