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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 120 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. stock — goods
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. file — a line of people
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rash — hasty
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. swing — to play on
  18. stock — shares
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — a dish

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