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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 120 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a tool
  5. ground — the earth
  6. charge — electricity
  7. bear — the animal
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. ground — a position
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — in control
  13. ground — crushed
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bear — the animal
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stock — goods

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