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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bulb — for light
  7. stock — shares
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bound — tied together
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — for sport
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. stock — goods
  16. row — to paddle
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — a subject
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. row — a line
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. file — a line of people

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