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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — farmland
  7. dip — to sink
  8. field — for sport
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stock — shares
  11. file — a line of people
  12. last — final
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. rash — a series
  16. file — a document
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. field — a subject
  19. last — finally
  20. fork — in a road
  21. last — to go on
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. rash — hasty
  24. lie — an untruth

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