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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rest — what's left
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — a container
  7. stock — shares
  8. rest — a break
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. tube — the underground
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stock — goods
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. mine — for digging

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