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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 120 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — a tin
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stock — goods
  5. row — a line
  6. charge — a price
  7. row — to paddle
  8. file — a tool
  9. shower — to wash
  10. press — to push
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. clip — for paper
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. file — a line of people
  15. clip — a video
  16. file — a document
  17. shower — rain
  18. can — to be able to
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — in control
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — newspapers

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