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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. season — in sport
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fall — to drop
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. stock — goods
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. drill — a practice
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. drill — the tool
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. drill — army training
  21. season — of the year
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. fall — the season

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