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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: stock · jam · bark · swing · mark · rock · fall · file

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stock — shares
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. stock — goods
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. rock — a stone
  12. file — a document
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — in golf
  16. fall — the season
  17. mark — a grade
  18. fall — to drop
  19. file — a tool
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. file — a line of people
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. swing — to play 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