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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. club — a group
  7. stock — shares
  8. chest — a box
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. club — for golf
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. club — for dancing
  15. band — a ring
  16. field — for sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. band — a music group
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stock — goods
  24. bark — of a tree

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