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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. stock — goods
  2. present — a gift
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. stock — shares
  5. spring — a coil
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. content — the amount
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chip — for betting
  19. bark — to shout
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. vault — a safe
  23. wound — an injury
  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