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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. kid — child
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cue — for pool
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. content — happy
  10. stock — shares
  11. content — the amount
  12. cue — a signal
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. season — in sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stock — goods
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. season — of the year
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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