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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. stock — goods
  3. court — for sport
  4. bulb — for light
  5. file — a line of people
  6. kid — child
  7. rule — government
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. kid — to tease
  10. file — a tool
  11. fall — the season
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. court — of a king
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rule — a law
  22. fall — to drop
  23. court — of law
  24. file — a document

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