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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cue — a signal
  8. stock — shares
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. ground — the earth
  11. game — wild animals
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a ring
  19. cue — for pool
  20. stock — goods
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. game — a match
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. trunk — of a car

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