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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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. file — a document
  2. band — a ring
  3. stock — shares
  4. file — a tool
  5. stock — goods
  6. pop — music
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. net — in sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pop — soda
  17. mark — a trace
  18. band — a music group
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pit — in a race
  21. net — for catching
  22. mark — a grade
  23. net — after costs
  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