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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. cap — of ice
  8. file — a tool
  9. game — a match
  10. cap — a hat
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. rash — a series
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stock — shares
  17. file — a line of people
  18. game — wild animals
  19. file — a document
  20. stock — goods
  21. rash — hasty
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mine — for digging

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