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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's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. net — for catching
  3. ground — the earth
  4. fine — all right
  5. net — after costs
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — in sport
  9. tube — the underground
  10. ground — a position
  11. stock — goods
  12. chest — a box
  13. chip — to eat
  14. fine — high quality
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. stock — shares
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — a container
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — a measure
  24. chip — for betting

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