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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pitch — completely
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rule — government
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. stock — shares
  12. prune — to trim
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. degree — temperature
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bark — to shout
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rule — a law
  24. bark — of a tree

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