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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. date — the fruit
  4. fine — high quality
  5. capital — money
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. stock — goods
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bore — to tire
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fine — all right
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. stock — shares
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bore — to drill
  24. capital — a city

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