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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. row — to paddle
  3. stock — shares
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. scale — in music
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. scale — size or range
  8. ball — a dance
  9. row — a line
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a document
  12. stock — goods
  13. hand — in cards
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. file — a tool
  16. ball — a great time
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. game — a match
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. file — a line of people

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