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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bark — to shout
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stock — shares
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. last — final
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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