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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. stock — goods
  3. file — a tool
  4. stock — shares
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hand — help
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mark — a grade
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. hand — in cards
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. mark — a trace
  19. file — a document
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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