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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. field — farmland
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. stock — shares
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cell — in biology
  9. firm — a company
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wake — a trail
  12. kid — to tease
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cell — a phone
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. kid — child
  20. field — for sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. stock — goods
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. field — a subject

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