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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. last — finally
  3. ground — the earth
  4. stock — goods
  5. mug — to rob
  6. last — to go on
  7. mug — a cup
  8. last — final
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mug — a face
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. foot — a measure

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