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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. press — to push
  9. stock — shares
  10. kid — to tease
  11. press — a publisher
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. shower — to wash
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. press — newspapers
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. saw — the tool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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