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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. stock — goods
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. firm — a company
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. land — ground
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. bear — the animal
  12. shower — to wash
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. stock — shares
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — decided
  18. season — in sport
  19. land — to come down
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. shower — rain
  22. bear — the animal
  23. saw — the tool
  24. land — a country

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