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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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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. net — after costs
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stock — goods
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cell — in biology
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — a city
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. capital — money
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. cap — of ice

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