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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stock — goods
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. shower — to wash
  5. stock — shares
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. file — a line of people
  13. suit — clothes
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. suit — in cards
  17. fork — in a road
  18. suit — to fit
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. game — wild animals
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. shower — rain
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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