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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. stock — goods
  3. ground — the earth
  4. land — ground
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. cell — in biology
  8. ground — a position
  9. land — a country
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. file — a tool
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. ground — crushed
  18. file — a document
  19. stock — shares
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. land — to come down
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rash — hasty

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