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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. file — a tool
  13. band — a music group
  14. bass — low music
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. plane — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. band — a ring
  20. file — a line of people
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — out of danger

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