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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. row — a line
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. stock — goods
  9. season — of the year
  10. chest — of your body
  11. march — the month
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. season — in sport
  18. stock — shares
  19. row — to paddle
  20. chest — a box
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. row — a quarrel

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