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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. game — a match
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. stock — shares
  7. bark — to shout
  8. craft — a skill
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. game — wild animals
  11. band — a music group
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. craft — boats
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rule — government
  22. stock — goods
  23. rule — a law
  24. sharp — clever

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