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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. game — wild animals
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. stock — shares
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. file — a tool
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. track — a path
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. toast — bread
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. file — a document
  22. stock — goods
  23. file — a line of people
  24. game — a match

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