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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. band — a music group
  4. chest — of your body
  5. club — for golf
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stock — goods
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. march — music
  10. stock — shares
  11. club — for dancing
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bark — to shout
  14. band — a ring
  15. march — the month
  16. fine — high quality
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. club — a group
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. march — the month

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