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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. stock — shares
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. stock — goods
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. season — in sport
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pop — soda
  14. season — of the year
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pop — music
  19. row — to paddle
  20. clip — a video
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. clip — to cut
  23. row — a line
  24. pop — to visit

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