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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. hand — help
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. file — a tool
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. net — in sport
  9. mate — to breed
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — completely
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stock — shares
  19. mate — a friend
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. mate — a partner
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. stock — goods

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