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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. swing — in golf
  2. stock — goods
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. swing — music
  6. land — ground
  7. tube — a container
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — to come from
  11. tube — the underground
  12. file — a document
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. land — to come down
  15. swing — to play on
  16. stock — shares
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. land — a country
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chip — for betting
  21. file — a line of people
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — in a computer
  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