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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · stock · fork · deal · court · mouse · bark · chest

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. court — of a king
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. fall — to drop
  15. court — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fall — to drop
  18. court — of law
  19. bark — to shout
  20. fork — in a road
  21. stock — shares
  22. fall — the season
  23. fork — to eat with
  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