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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. track — a path
  2. stock — shares
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. fine — high quality
  7. hand — help
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. spring — of water
  11. track — to keep track
  12. perch — the fish
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. track — a song
  16. stock — goods
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bark — to shout
  19. fine — all right
  20. spring — a coil
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. spring — the season
  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