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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 124 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. shower — rain
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. key — the most important part
  6. file — a tool
  7. stock — shares
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. key — in music
  11. rule — a law
  12. stock — goods
  13. file — a document
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. key — for a lock
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bulb — for light
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. rule — government
  24. bulb — for light

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