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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stock — shares
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cold — not warm
  8. board — to get on
  9. pit — a hole
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. face — part of the head
  17. mine — for digging
  18. face — to confront
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wound — an injury
  21. face — to point toward
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pit — in a race
  24. tube — a container

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