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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rule — a law
  6. net — in sport
  7. file — a line of people
  8. root — of a plant
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. file — a document
  11. root — of a word
  12. file — a tool
  13. net — after costs
  14. root — the cause
  15. rule — government
  16. fall — to drop
  17. net — for catching
  18. fall — the season

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