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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. saw — the tool
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bank — for money
  11. pitch — completely
  12. lean — to bend
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stock — goods
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. lean — thin
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pitch — a sports field

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