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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mark — a trace
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. last — final
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. stock — goods
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a line
  14. last — to go on
  15. staff — employees
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. last — finally
  18. bark — to shout
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mark — to pay attention

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