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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stock — goods
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fall — the season
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. stock — shares
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — the time now
  13. land — ground
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. file — a line of people
  16. date — the fruit
  17. present — there
  18. present — a gift
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. land — a country

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