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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. game — a match
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. firm — decided
  10. game — wild animals
  11. firm — a company
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. net — in sport
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. stock — goods
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. firm — steady
  24. season — in sport

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