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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. ground — crushed
  3. stock — goods
  4. bark — to shout
  5. game — a match
  6. chip — to eat
  7. last — final
  8. field — farmland
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. stock — shares
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. field — a subject
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. chip — for betting
  22. game — wild animals
  23. deal — to handle
  24. field — for sport

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