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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. drill — army training
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. kick — in football
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. file — a tool
  15. scale — size or range
  16. chest — a box
  17. stock — shares
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. drill — a practice
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chest — of your body
  24. scale — for weighing

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