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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wind — moving air
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. mug — a cup
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. mug — to rob
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bound — certain
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. deal — to handle
  24. mug — a face

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