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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fall — to drop
  8. scale — size or range
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stock — shares
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. game — a match
  14. scale — in music
  15. game — wild animals
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. row — to paddle
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. fall — the season
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. row — a line
  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