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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · file · sharp · squash · stock · bowl · land · season

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. season — of the year
  6. stock — shares
  7. land — a country
  8. file — a tool
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. season — in sport
  12. last — to go on
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. land — to come down
  15. squash — to crush
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. last — final
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. sharp — clever
  24. land — ground

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