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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. toast — bread
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. rash — hasty
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wound — an injury
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stock — goods
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rash — a series
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. stock — shares
  24. spring — of water

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