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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. file — a document
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. file — a tool
  9. suit — to fit
  10. rash — a series
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. suit — in cards
  14. kick — in football
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. suit — clothes
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. stock — goods
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rash — hasty
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rash — on the skin

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