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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. tube — a container
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spring — the season
  7. stock — shares
  8. ground — the earth
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. spring — of water
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spring — a coil
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bark — to shout
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. stock — goods

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