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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bore — to drill
  3. last — final
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. tube — the underground
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. stock — goods
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. last — to go on
  11. bore — to tire
  12. wound — an injury
  13. squash — the sport
  14. tube — a container
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. last — finally
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bark — to shout
  20. squash — to crush
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. tube — in a tire

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