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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stock — goods
  3. tube — a container
  4. fine — all right
  5. stock — shares
  6. rash — hasty
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wind — moving air
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. tube — the underground
  21. fine — high quality
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rash — a series

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