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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. tube — the underground
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. court — for sport
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. tube — a container
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. court — of law
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. date — the fruit
  17. court — of a king
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. stock — goods
  24. dip — to sink

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