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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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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: stock · file · current · game · bat · ground · tube · pound

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. tube — a container
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. file — a document
  5. stock — goods
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tube — the underground
  8. stock — shares
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — the animal
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pound — a weight
  13. game — wild animals
  14. current — electric
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. game — a match
  17. current — happening now
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. ground — a position
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. ground — the earth
  23. current — of water
  24. file — a tool

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