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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. chip — to eat
  3. file — a tool
  4. rock — music
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wound — an injury
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. chip — for betting
  13. stock — shares
  14. file — a document
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. snap — to click
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stock — goods
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. rock — a stone
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bowl — to roll

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