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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. branch — a division
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. clip — to cut
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bore — to tire
  11. court — of a king
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. clip — for paper
  15. court — for sport
  16. bark — to shout
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bore — to drill
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. court — of law
  24. clip — a video

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