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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. file — a document
  3. bass — the fish
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bass — low music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. file — a line of people
  8. ground — crushed
  9. plane — a tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to point toward
  12. clip — to cut
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ground — a position
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. face — to confront
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. file — a tool
  20. clip — a video
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. stock — shares
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. ground — the earth

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