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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. stock — goods
  4. chair — a leader
  5. spring — the season
  6. charge — in control
  7. stock — shares
  8. land — ground
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. land — to come down
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. rock — music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bark — to shout
  20. charge — a price
  21. spring — of water
  22. charge — electricity
  23. rock — a stone
  24. scale — in music

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