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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. current — electric
  4. stock — goods
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. current — of water
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stock — shares
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. court — of law
  16. cell — in biology
  17. land — ground
  18. court — for sport
  19. current — happening now
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. court — of a king
  22. board — to get on
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. board — a committee

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