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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. spring — the season
  3. file — a document
  4. pop — to visit
  5. file — a tool
  6. stock — goods
  7. spell — letters
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — music
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. spring — of water
  15. spell — magic
  16. pop — music
  17. scale — in music
  18. stock — shares
  19. court — for sport
  20. spell — a short time
  21. file — a line of people
  22. swing — in golf
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pop — soda

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