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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. court — of a king
  4. ground — crushed
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. tear — to rip
  7. stock — shares
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. court — of law
  10. bore — to drill
  11. stock — goods
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. tear — from crying
  14. court — for sport
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. ground — a position
  21. tear — from crying
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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