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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. court — for sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of law
  17. squash — the sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. saw — the tool
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. pound — a weight
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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