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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — to come down
  5. file — a tool
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. land — a country
  11. file — a document
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. deal — to handle
  14. stock — goods
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. stock — shares
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch

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