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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. stock — goods
  4. rest — a break
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mate — a friend
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. file — a document
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mate — a partner
  11. fork — in a road
  12. court — of a king
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. land — to come down
  15. court — of law
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. rest — what's left
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. stock — shares
  21. mate — to breed
  22. court — for sport
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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