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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tube — the underground
  3. snap — to click
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. last — finally
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. last — final
  16. present — there
  17. present — a gift
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. present — the time now
  23. bass — low music
  24. last — to go on

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