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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 120 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. file — a tool
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. net — after costs
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. file — a document
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. deal — to handle
  20. file — a line of people
  21. march — music
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. march — the month
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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