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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. ground — a position
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. row — a line
  6. field — a subject
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. row — to paddle
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — the earth
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stock — shares
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bark — to shout
  17. field — for sport
  18. ground — crushed
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. field — farmland
  22. foot — a measure
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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