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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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — army training
  8. cue — a hint
  9. can — a tin
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stock — goods
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cue — for pool
  14. perch — the fish
  15. degree — temperature
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. can — to be able to
  20. cue — a signal
  21. drill — a practice
  22. degree — from a university
  23. can — a tin
  24. stock — shares

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