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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. land — ground
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. snap — to click
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rush — hurry
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. land — to come down
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. capital — a city
  15. stock — shares
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. season — of the year
  20. land — a country
  21. season — in sport
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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