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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. stock — shares
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bark — to shout
  6. clip — for paper
  7. club — for dancing
  8. clip — a video
  9. spell — a short time
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. stock — goods
  15. club — for golf
  16. game — wild animals
  17. club — a group
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. game — a match
  24. pitcher — a jug

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