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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. stock — shares
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. shower — rain
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bark — to shout
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pitch — completely
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  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