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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stock — goods
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fall — to drop
  7. court — of law
  8. stock — shares
  9. spell — letters
  10. sharp — clever
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spell — magic
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. court — for sport
  20. spell — a short time
  21. fall — the season
  22. court — of a king
  23. file — a document
  24. pound — a weight

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