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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. stock — goods
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stock — shares
  7. stem — to come from
  8. charge — a price
  9. net — after costs
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rash — a series
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. shower — rain
  18. drill — a practice
  19. charge — electricity
  20. rash — hasty
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. charge — in control
  24. net — in sport

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