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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. stock — shares
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. press — to push
  5. stock — goods
  6. rash — hasty
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cue — for pool
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. drill — the tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cue — a signal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. drill — army training
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. season — of the year
  19. rash — a series
  20. press — a publisher
  21. drill — a practice
  22. press — newspapers
  23. season — in sport
  24. rash — on the skin

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