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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. row — a line
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. stock — goods
  8. chip — to eat
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. craft — a skill
  17. row — to paddle
  18. chip — for betting
  19. stock — shares
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. craft — boats

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