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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. rash — on the skin
  3. clip — to cut
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. spring — a coil
  7. clip — a video
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. spring — of water
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spring — the season
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. rash — hasty
  21. stock — goods
  22. ground — the earth
  23. rash — a series
  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