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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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 — a soup base
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stock — goods
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. chest — a box
  7. mug — to rob
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. club — a group
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. shower — rain
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. club — for dancing
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bark — to shout
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stock — shares
  20. club — for golf
  21. clip — a video
  22. mug — a cup
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mug — a face

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