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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. file — a tool
  3. stock — goods
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. wind — moving air
  6. file — a document
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. foot — a measure
  13. band — a music group
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stock — shares
  16. prune — to trim
  17. present — there
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. present — the time now
  24. band — a ring

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