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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. march — the month
  5. bat — the animal
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. charge — in control
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stock — shares
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stock — goods
  17. file — a document
  18. bat — for baseball

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