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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. file — a document
  5. chip — for betting
  6. row — a line
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. row — to paddle
  14. stock — goods
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rush — hurry
  17. chip — to eat
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. file — a tool
  20. plane — a tool
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. plane — in geometry
  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