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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stock — goods
  4. mark — a trace
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rest — a break
  7. object — an aim
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. land — a country
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stock — shares
  14. land — ground
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. object — a thing
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mark — a grade
  22. land — to come down
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mark — to pay attention

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