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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. court — of a king
  5. stock — goods
  6. degree — an amount
  7. court — of law
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bulb — for light
  10. land — to come down
  11. chip — to eat
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. degree — from a university
  19. land — a country
  20. court — for sport
  21. file — a document
  22. stock — shares
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a tool

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