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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. stock — goods
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. ball — a dance
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. game — a match
  12. stock — shares
  13. capital — money
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. capital — a city
  18. game — wild animals
  19. ball — a great time
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wound — an injury
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. fork — in a road

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