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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. net — after costs
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. stock — shares
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cue — for pool
  13. face — to point toward
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — a coil
  16. face — to confront
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. stock — goods

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