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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 124 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. squash — the sport
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stock — goods
  5. rock — music
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. file — a tool
  9. chest — a box
  10. tube — the underground
  11. stock — shares
  12. squash — to crush
  13. degree — from a university
  14. snap — to click
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. file — a document
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. rock — a stone
  24. rock — to move gently

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