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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. firm — decided
  4. firm — steady
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. file — a tool
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. file — a document
  16. game — wild animals
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. game — a match
  20. ball — a dance
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ball — a great time
  24. firm — a company

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