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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. stock — goods
  3. rock — a stone
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — shares
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. club — for golf
  16. bark — to shout
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rock — music
  20. wake — a trail
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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