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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mug — a face
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. stock — goods
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. kick — in football
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mug — a cup
  11. net — after costs
  12. lean — thin
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. court — of law
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. stock — shares

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