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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. land — a country
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bark — to shout
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. land — to come down
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wake — a trail
  14. stock — shares
  15. branch — a division
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. plane — a tool
  19. scale — size or range
  20. land — ground
  21. scale — in music
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. wake — before a funeral

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