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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — clever
  9. row — to paddle
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. squash — to crush
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. stock — goods
  19. row — a line
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. stock — shares
  24. squash — the vegetable

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