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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. land — to come down
  3. pass — a permit
  4. fine — all right
  5. land — a country
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. fine — high quality
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. land — ground

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