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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
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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: date · face · row · pitcher · stock · stick · wound · file

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. face — to confront
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. file — a tool
  7. row — a line
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stock — shares
  12. file — a line of people
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. stock — goods
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. file — a document
  24. pitcher — a jug

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