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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. mark — a grade
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. game — a match
  13. bore — to tire
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mark — a trace
  17. stock — goods
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stock — shares
  20. pop — soda
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. pop — music
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. game — wild animals

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