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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — a signal
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. cell — a phone
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — in biology
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stock — shares
  13. pound — a weight
  14. file — a tool
  15. bulb — for light
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bulb — for light
  18. stock — goods
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. file — a document
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cell — in a prison

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