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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. march — the month
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. staff — employees
  8. file — a line of people
  9. stock — shares
  10. staff — employees
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cell — a phone
  13. file — a tool
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bank — for money
  16. prune — to trim
  17. march — music
  18. file — a document
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bank — for money
  21. march — the month
  22. staff — a stick
  23. cell — in biology
  24. stock — goods

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