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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. hand — help
  5. stock — shares
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stand — to bear
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — goods
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. stand — for spectators

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