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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. squash — the sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. file — a tool
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. stock — goods
  10. field — a subject
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — steady
  13. field — for sport
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. file — a line of people
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. firm — decided
  21. squash — to crush
  22. sharp — clever
  23. stock — shares
  24. file — a document

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