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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cue — a signal
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stock — shares
  6. rash — a series
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. file — a tool
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. season — of the year
  11. stock — goods
  12. current — electric
  13. file — a document
  14. cue — a hint
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. file — a line of people
  18. current — happening now
  19. season — in sport
  20. rash — hasty
  21. cue — for pool
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. current — of water

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