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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · stock · squash · season · bark · lie · kid · deal

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. season — of the year
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. file — a line of people
  7. lie — to recline
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. file — a tool
  11. deal — to handle
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stock — goods
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bark — to shout
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. season — in sport
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. stock — shares
  23. file — a document
  24. squash — the 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