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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. date — the fruit
  5. drill — the tool
  6. key — for a lock
  7. stock — goods
  8. key — in music
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. row — to paddle
  11. stock — shares
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bark — to shout
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. press — to push
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. drill — army training
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. drill — a practice
  22. key — the most important part
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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