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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. file — a document
  5. land — ground
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. land — a country
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. roll — a list
  12. pitch — completely
  13. spring — of water
  14. chip — for betting
  15. roll — a cake
  16. file — a tool
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. land — to come down
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. spring — a coil
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. chip — to eat

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