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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. present — a gift
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bark — to shout
  6. scale — size or range
  7. present — there
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. mark — a trace
  14. scale — in music
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. snap — to click
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. present — the time now
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. scale — for weighing

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