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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. hand — help
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. saw — the tool
  8. plane — a tool
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bark — to shout
  17. saw — the tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. squash — the sport
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bear — the animal
  24. stock — goods

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