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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 120 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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bark — to shout
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pass — a permit
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. sharp — clever
  12. ground — a position
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. land — a country
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. bay — a horse colour

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