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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. present — a gift
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. current — electric
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. file — a line of people
  8. current — of water
  9. pit — in a race
  10. present — the time now
  11. pit — a hole
  12. craft — a skill
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. current — happening now
  16. file — a document
  17. present — there
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. craft — boats
  20. file — a tool
  21. stock — shares
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. straw — a straw man

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