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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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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: can · row · stock · roll · wind · court · nail · file

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. roll — a list
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. roll — a cake
  5. row — to paddle
  6. court — for sport
  7. file — a tool
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. stock — goods
  10. court — of a king
  11. can — to be able to
  12. stock — shares
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. court — of law
  16. file — a line of people
  17. can — a tin
  18. row — a line
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a document
  22. can — a tin
  23. wind — moving air
  24. nail — on a finger

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