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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. club — a group
  3. lean — thin
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — shares
  6. spell — magic
  7. mark — a trace
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spell — letters
  13. season — in sport
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. wound — an injury
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mark — a grade
  20. lean — to bend
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. spell — a short time

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