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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. bark — to shout
  3. track — a path
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — shares
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. degree — temperature
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. game — a match
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. degree — from a university
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. degree — an amount
  23. lie — to recline
  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