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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. file — a tool
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a document
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spell — letters
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. stock — goods
  12. spell — magic
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. cue — a hint
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — the animal
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. file — a line of people
  19. sharp — clever
  20. spell — a short time
  21. march — music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. march — the month
  24. cue — for pool

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