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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rock — a stone
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wound — an injury
  5. file — a document
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. file — a tool
  8. wake — a trail
  9. stock — goods
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. scale — in music
  18. rock — music
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. spring — a coil
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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