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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a document
  10. stock — goods
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. wind — moving air
  13. kick — in football
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. file — a tool
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stem — to come from
  22. date — the fruit
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. fan — a supporter

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