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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. stock — shares
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. stock — goods
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. rock — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. game — wild animals
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. game — a match
  20. spring — of water
  21. wake — a trail
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. rock — a stone

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