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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. game — wild animals
  6. tube — a container
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. rash — a series
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — all right
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — there
  16. game — a match
  17. present — a gift
  18. track — a song
  19. rash — hasty
  20. track — to keep track
  21. swing — in golf
  22. track — a path
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. rash — on the skin

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