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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 spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. file — a line of people
  3. net — in sport
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. present — a gift
  9. mine — for digging
  10. present — there
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. file — a tool
  15. stock — shares
  16. file — a document
  17. cold — an illness
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. net — after costs
  20. lean — thin
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cold — not warm
  23. net — for catching
  24. present — the time now

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