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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. net — after costs
  6. kick — in football
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. swing — music
  12. court — for sport
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bulb — for light
  15. court — of a king
  16. bulb — for light
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. net — in sport
  21. court — of law
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. net — for catching
  24. swing — to play on

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