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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ground — a position
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. field — for sport
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. field — farmland
  19. wake — a trail
  20. stock — shares
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stock — goods
  23. field — a subject
  24. bark — to shout

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