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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. stock — goods
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pit — in a race
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. drill — army training
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. file — a tool
  16. rash — a series
  17. cell — a phone
  18. drill — a practice
  19. file — a document
  20. pit — a hole
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — shares
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. drill — the tool

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