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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · bark · chair · degree · stock · dip · wake · file

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. stock — goods
  3. file — a document
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. file — a tool
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wake — a trail
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. net — in sport
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. net — for catching
  21. chair — a leader
  22. file — a line of people
  23. net — after costs
  24. chair — to sit on

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