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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. court — for sport
  8. current — electric
  9. file — a tool
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bulb — for light
  14. file — a line of people
  15. current — of water
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bark — to shout
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. chest — of your body
  23. file — a document
  24. current — happening now

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