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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. land — ground
  9. current — of water
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. content — the amount
  12. land — to come down
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — goods
  15. content — happy
  16. land — a country
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. last — to go on
  20. current — happening now
  21. bark — to shout
  22. last — final
  23. current — electric
  24. arm — part of the body

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