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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stock — goods
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. stock — shares
  14. chest — a box
  15. key — for a lock
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — the most important part
  18. fine — all right
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. key — in music
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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