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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stock — shares
  6. pit — in a race
  7. stock — goods
  8. band — a ring
  9. chest — of your body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pit — a hole
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. press — a publisher
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. hand — help
  17. press — to push
  18. chest — a box
  19. band — a music group
  20. press — newspapers
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. band — a rubber band
  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