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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. stock — goods
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stock — shares
  9. key — in music
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. key — for a lock
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. game — a match
  19. race — a contest
  20. bass — low music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. race — humankind
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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