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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rock — a stone
  6. firm — a company
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rock — music
  11. stock — shares
  12. file — a tool
  13. firm — steady
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. last — final
  16. mine — for digging
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. firm — decided
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. last — to go on
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. last — finally

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