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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. charge — a price
  8. race — humankind
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. stem — to come from
  12. file — a document
  13. pitch — completely
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. race — a contest
  16. file — a tool
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. charge — in control
  20. charge — electricity
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. file — a line of people

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