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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. track — a song
  3. last — to go on
  4. track — a path
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. stock — goods
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chip — for betting
  9. clip — a video
  10. bark — to shout
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chip — to eat
  13. hand — help
  14. last — finally
  15. clip — for paper
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hand — in cards
  19. clip — to cut
  20. last — final
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. track — to keep track
  24. stock — a soup base

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