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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rash — hasty
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stock — shares
  6. fall — the season
  7. bank — for money
  8. rash — a series
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fall — to drop
  13. file — a document
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. stock — goods
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bank — of a river
  18. file — a tool
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bank — for money
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. sharp — exactly

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