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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: file · mate · stock · hand · bore · roll · field · mouse

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bore — to drill
  6. roll — a list
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. field — farmland
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. stock — goods
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bore — to tire
  15. file — a tool
  16. hand — help
  17. roll — a cake
  18. mate — a friend
  19. file — a document
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. field — a subject
  22. stock — shares
  23. field — for sport
  24. hand — part of the body

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