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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. rule — a law
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. hand — help
  8. ball — a dance
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. field — a subject
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rule — government
  15. stock — shares
  16. ball — a great time
  17. rash — hasty
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. field — farmland
  22. rash — a series
  23. bark — to shout
  24. ball — a round shape

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