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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stock — goods
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stand — to bear
  6. land — a country
  7. tear — from crying
  8. land — ground
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. land — to come down
  11. snap — to click
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tear — to rip
  15. spring — the season
  16. stock — shares
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. tear — from crying
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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