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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a friend
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fall — to drop
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fall — the season
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rest — a break
  20. bark — to shout
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. shower — rain
  24. fall — to drop

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