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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rest — a break
  5. shower — rain
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. rest — what's left
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. shower — to wash
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. capital — a city
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stock — goods
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. capital — money
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. rest — what's left
  21. file — a tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pound — a weight

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