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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: field · saw · bay · stock · file · leaves · net · mark

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — a trace
  8. file — a tool
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. stock — goods
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. saw — the tool
  15. net — for catching
  16. stock — shares
  17. field — a subject
  18. saw — the tool
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. file — a document
  22. field — farmland
  23. file — a line of people
  24. field — for sport

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