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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. court — for sport
  4. stock — shares
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. court — of a king
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pop — music
  14. stock — goods
  15. bark — to shout
  16. march — music
  17. court — of law
  18. hide — to keep secret

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