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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stock — shares
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cue — a hint
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. tube — a container
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ground — crushed
  13. fine — all right
  14. ground — a position
  15. file — a tool
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. file — a document
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. ground — the earth
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. mate — a friend
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mate — to breed

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