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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 · season · bark · wake · file · cap · nail · roll

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. season — of the year
  3. cap — of ice
  4. file — a tool
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cap — a hat
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stock — shares
  14. wake — a trail
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. file — a line of people
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. roll — a list
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. season — in sport
  24. file — a document

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