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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  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. stock — goods
  2. rash — hasty
  3. object — to protest
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. rest — what's left
  6. object — a thing
  7. stock — shares
  8. file — a line of people
  9. snap — to click
  10. file — a document
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rash — a series
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rest — what's left
  19. net — in sport
  20. object — an aim
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rest — a break
  23. temple — side of the head
  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