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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — shares
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. net — in sport
  11. staff — employees
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. sharp — clever
  16. staff — a stick
  17. saw — the tool
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. tube — a container
  20. foot — a measure
  21. wound — an injury
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. saw — the tool
  24. staff — employees

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