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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stock — shares
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bark — to shout
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. ball — a dance
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. shower — rain
  23. scale — in music
  24. stock — goods

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