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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. field — a subject
  5. fork — in a road
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. suit — in cards
  10. game — a match
  11. field — farmland
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. suit — to fit
  16. field — for sport
  17. file — a document
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. stock — shares
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. suit — clothes
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. game — wild animals

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