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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. roll — a list
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bat — the animal
  13. roll — a cake
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. field — a subject
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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