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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stock — shares
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. chest — of your body
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. chest — a box
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stock — goods
  20. pit — in a race
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bark — to shout
  23. branch — a division
  24. pit — a hole

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