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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. cell — in biology
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bark — to shout
  11. band — a music group
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. track — a song
  17. band — a ring
  18. track — a path
  19. stock — goods
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bat — in an idiom

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