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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. track — to keep track
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. spell — magic
  12. roll — a cake
  13. track — a path
  14. spell — a short time
  15. roll — a list
  16. stock — shares
  17. spell — letters
  18. stock — goods
  19. bat — the animal
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. track — a song
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pound — for dogs

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