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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mark — a grade
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. court — of law
  6. net — after costs
  7. band — a ring
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stock — shares
  10. net — in sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. craft — a skill
  14. net — for catching
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. file — a line of people
  17. court — for sport
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. band — a music group
  20. bark — to shout
  21. file — a tool
  22. mark — a trace
  23. file — a document
  24. craft — boats

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