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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. drill — army training
  5. tear — from crying
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chip — to eat
  9. tear — to rip
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. stock — shares
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stock — goods
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. chip — for betting
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tear — from crying
  20. scale — in music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. straw — dry grass

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