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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. can — a tin
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. can — a tin
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bass — low music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. file — a document
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. can — to be able to
  16. bark — to shout
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. file — a tool
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bass — the fish
  24. chair — a leader

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