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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cell — in biology
  3. kid — to tease
  4. row — a line
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. stock — goods
  7. roll — a list
  8. kid — child
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cell — a phone
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bound — tied together
  22. roll — a cake
  23. stock — shares
  24. bear — the animal

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