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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. stock — goods
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. fine — all right
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. lean — to bend
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stock — shares
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. spell — a short time
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. season — of the year
  15. spell — letters
  16. lean — thin
  17. sharp — clever
  18. fine — high quality
  19. season — in sport
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cold — not warm
  22. pop — soda
  23. spell — magic
  24. stock — a soup base

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