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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mug — a cup
  4. stock — goods
  5. spring — the season
  6. mug — a face
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. row — to paddle
  10. file — a line of people
  11. toast — bread
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. mug — to rob
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. row — a line
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. stock — shares
  22. land — to come down
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. toast — the most admired

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