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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 120 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stock — shares
  8. cold — not warm
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. snap — to click
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mine — for digging
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fine — high quality
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. cold — an illness
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bulb — for light
  24. cold — the Cold War

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