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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. stock — goods
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. chip — for betting
  17. stock — shares
  18. cell — a phone
  19. chip — to eat
  20. field — farmland
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. chip — in a computer

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