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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. file — a document
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. file — a line of people
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bound — obliged
  8. stock — shares
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. dip — to sink
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bound — certain
  19. file — a tool
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bound — tied together

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