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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. ball — a great time
  4. stock — shares
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mate — a partner
  8. field — a subject
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. stock — goods
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. lean — thin
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. field — for sport
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. scale — in music
  20. ball — a dance
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. field — farmland
  23. scale — size or range
  24. lean — to bend

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