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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. staff — employees
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. last — final
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stock — goods
  8. wind — moving air
  9. last — to go on
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. staff — employees
  19. chest — a box
  20. last — finally
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. stock — shares

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