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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — a series
  3. charge — in control
  4. field — farmland
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. current — electric
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. field — for sport
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stock — shares
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stock — goods
  18. charge — a price
  19. field — a subject
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. charge — electricity
  22. file — a tool
  23. current — of water
  24. current — happening now

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