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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. file — a line of people
  3. fine — all right
  4. stock — shares
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. kid — child
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. spell — letters
  9. fine — high quality
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. file — a document
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spell — a short time
  17. deal — to handle
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. cell — in biology
  24. file — a tool

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