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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. last — to go on
  4. file — a tool
  5. last — final
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — finally
  10. track — to keep track
  11. stock — goods
  12. chest — of your body
  13. track — a song
  14. file — a document
  15. stock — shares
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. deal — to handle
  20. fork — in a road
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. track — a path
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. file — a line of people

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