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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bear — the animal
  7. clip — a video
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. clip — to cut
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. face — to confront
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stock — shares
  16. face — to point toward
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bark — to shout
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bear — the animal
  24. face — part of the head

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