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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. ground — a position
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. mark — a grade
  14. ground — crushed
  15. mark — a trace
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chair — a leader
  21. tube — a container
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bark — to shout
  24. tube — the underground

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