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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: bark · file · cap · arm · wake · stock · dip · roll

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. wake — a trail
  4. roll — a cake
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stock — goods
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. dip — to sink
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cap — a hat
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. roll — a list
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. file — a line of people

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