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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. suit — clothes
  3. stock — shares
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. suit — in cards
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — a trace
  14. content — happy
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stock — goods
  17. content — the amount
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. file — a document
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. game — a match
  23. suit — to fit
  24. file — a tool

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