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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. pop — to visit
  7. net — in sport
  8. file — a tool
  9. net — for catching
  10. stock — shares
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stock — goods
  13. net — after costs
  14. file — a line of people
  15. squash — to crush
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. capital — money
  18. pop — music
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. file — a document
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. capital — a city

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