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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 116 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  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. drill — army training
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. ground — a position
  4. court — of a king
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. court — for sport
  7. pass — a permit
  8. stock — shares
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — the tool
  11. court — of law
  12. ground — crushed
  13. clip — a video
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. fine — all right
  20. clip — for paper
  21. stock — goods
  22. ground — the earth
  23. fine — high quality
  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