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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stock — shares
  4. rash — hasty
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bark — to shout
  14. stock — goods
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. degree — temperature
  18. last — finally
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. tube — a container
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rash — a series
  24. stock — a soup base

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