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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. spring — of water
  5. file — a document
  6. cue — a signal
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. chip — for betting
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. file — a tool
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. spring — the season
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cue — for pool
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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