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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. last — finally
  3. file — a tool
  4. pitch — completely
  5. stock — shares
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. stock — goods
  19. file — a line of people
  20. kid — child
  21. file — a document
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. game — wild animals
  24. last — final

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