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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stock — goods
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fine — high quality
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. file — a tool
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. file — a document
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. tube — the underground
  20. squash — to crush
  21. tube — a container
  22. cell — a phone
  23. file — a line of people
  24. cell — in biology

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