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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bass · charge · cue · tear · stock · mine · snap · file

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cue — a signal
  4. file — a tool
  5. charge — electricity
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. charge — a price
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cue — for pool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. stock — shares
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — goods
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — low music
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. file — a document
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. charge — in control
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cue — a hint
  24. bass — the fish

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