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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fine — all right
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stock — shares
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. row — a line
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stock — goods
  20. plane — a tool
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. row — to paddle
  24. fine — a penalty

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