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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. charge — a price
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a tool
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. file — a document
  14. charge — electricity
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a line of people
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fan — a supporter

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