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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 116 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bass — low music
  3. field — farmland
  4. bass — the fish
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — for sport
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pop — soda
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. field — a subject
  11. stock — goods
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stock — shares
  15. pop — music
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. lie — to recline
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. board — to get on
  20. pop — to visit
  21. board — a committee
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. lie — an untruth

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