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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. bark — to shout
  3. capital — a city
  4. firm — a company
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. firm — steady
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. stock — goods
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. stock — shares
  11. present — the time now
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of a king
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. court — of law
  16. capital — money
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. present — a gift
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. present — there
  24. stock — a soup base

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