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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. stock — goods
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. race — a contest
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. rule — government
  7. roll — a list
  8. file — a line of people
  9. face — to confront
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. chip — for betting
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. face — to point toward
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rule — a law
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. face — part of the head
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. roll — a cake
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. stock — shares

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