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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. land — a country
  4. land — ground
  5. bulb — for light
  6. file — a document
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stock — shares
  10. saw — the tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. file — a tool
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bulb — for light
  21. land — to come down
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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