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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. cell — a phone
  4. shower — rain
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — steady
  14. fine — high quality
  15. cell — in biology
  16. field — for sport
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. firm — a company
  21. field — farmland
  22. shower — to wash
  23. field — a subject
  24. cell — in a prison

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