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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. race — a contest
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. file — a line of people
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bass — low music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. track — a song
  15. race — humankind
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bass — the fish
  19. file — a tool
  20. stock — goods
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. stock — shares
  24. prune — the fruit

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