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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rule — a law
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. rule — government
  10. content — happy
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stock — shares
  15. bank — for money
  16. content — the amount
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bank — of a river
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bank — for money
  22. stock — goods
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. rule — to rule out

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