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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. stock — goods
  4. bulb — for light
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. file — a tool
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bulb — for light
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. deal — to handle
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. file — a document
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. snap — to click

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