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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stock — goods
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. fall — the season
  12. dip — to sink
  13. row — a line
  14. track — a song
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spell — a short time
  19. track — a path
  20. track — to keep track
  21. charge — a price
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. charge — in control

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