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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. stock — goods
  3. track — to keep track
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — shares
  6. pass — a permit
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. wound — an injury
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. land — a country
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. spring — of water
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. track — a song
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. track — a path
  18. land — to come down
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. spring — a coil
  21. land — ground
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. spring — the season

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