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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. ball — a great time
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. stock — goods
  6. toast — bread
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stock — shares
  12. file — a tool
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. file — a document
  17. file — a line of people
  18. temple — a place of worship

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