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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  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. spring — of water
  2. pop — soda
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. chip — for betting
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. date — the fruit
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. pop — to visit
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rush — hurry
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spring — the season
  16. stock — goods
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pop — music
  19. stock — shares
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. chip — to eat
  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