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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. row — a line
  3. stock — goods
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. field — a subject
  6. spell — letters
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bark — to shout
  10. spell — a short time
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chip — for betting
  17. field — farmland
  18. spell — magic
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. field — for sport
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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