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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rash — hasty
  4. shower — rain
  5. file — a tool
  6. dip — to sink
  7. file — a line of people
  8. stock — shares
  9. lean — thin
  10. rash — a series
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — for betting
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wind — moving air
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. file — a document
  19. chip — to eat
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. lean — to bend

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