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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. land — to come down
  5. last — finally
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. roll — a cake
  11. march — the month
  12. land — ground
  13. pit — in a race
  14. date — the fruit
  15. march — the month
  16. last — final
  17. march — music
  18. land — a country
  19. last — to go on
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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