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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: file · wind · rock · spell · content · stock

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — shares
  5. spell — letters
  6. content — the amount
  7. spell — a short time
  8. file — a document
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. content — happy
  13. spell — magic
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. file — a tool
  16. stock — goods
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. wind — moving air

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