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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 124 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bark — to shout
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cue — a signal
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cue — for pool
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. file — a line of people
  15. stock — goods
  16. date — the fruit
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stock — shares
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. file — a document
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. file — a tool
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mark — a grade

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