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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. face — to point toward
  7. staff — employees
  8. suit — clothes
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. staff — employees
  11. face — part of the head
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. kid — child
  15. suit — to fit
  16. stock — goods
  17. kid — to tease
  18. row — a line
  19. bark — to shout
  20. staff — a stick
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. face — to confront

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