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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. cue — a signal
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fall — the season
  6. file — a tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. capital — money
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cue — a hint
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. file — a document
  15. cue — for pool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pass — a permit
  18. stock — shares

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