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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cue — a signal
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — to cut
  5. hand — help
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. stock — shares
  10. cue — a hint
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. hand — in cards
  16. net — for catching
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. clip — a video
  22. net — after costs
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stock — goods

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