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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stand — to bear
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. stock — goods
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. file — a document
  9. land — to come down
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. foot — a measure
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. game — a match
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. stock — shares
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. file — a 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