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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — music
  6. content — happy
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bark — to shout
  10. content — the amount
  11. stock — goods
  12. squash — the sport
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. stock — shares
  16. rock — a stone
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mark — a grade
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mark — a trace
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stock — a soup base

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