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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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. bark — to shout
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. stock — shares
  9. charge — electricity
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bass — the fish
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. charge — a price
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. charge — in control
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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