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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. present — there
  3. face — part of the head
  4. file — a document
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. present — a gift
  12. file — a tool
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. stock — goods
  16. present — the time now
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. scale — in music
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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