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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rash — a series
  7. band — a ring
  8. rash — hasty
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. perch — the fish
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. sharp — clever
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. band — a music group
  24. dip — to sink

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