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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. spring — of water
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. stock — shares
  6. file — a document
  7. rash — a series
  8. stock — goods
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. rash — hasty
  14. file — a tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chest — a box
  24. stock — a soup base

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