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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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mug — a face
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. spring — of water
  8. mug — a cup
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. spring — the season
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mate — a partner
  15. stock — shares
  16. race — the arms race
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. stock — goods
  20. pound — a weight
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mate — a friend
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pound — to hit hard

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