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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pitch — completely
  3. stock — goods
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. field — farmland
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. bark — to shout
  11. squash — to crush
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stock — shares
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. row — to paddle
  17. squash — the sport
  18. row — a line
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. field — a subject
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mate — a partner
  23. field — for sport
  24. fan — to cool the air

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