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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. season — of the year
  4. stock — shares
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. field — for sport
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. season — in sport
  9. net — in sport
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. bark — to shout
  16. field — a subject
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. file — a line of people
  19. race — humankind
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. net — for catching
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. net — after costs
  24. field — farmland

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