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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: squash · bark · date · fork · stick · land · cold · stock

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stock — goods
  5. squash — to crush
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. land — to come down
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. cold — not warm
  13. land — a country
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — the sport
  16. fork — in a road
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stock — shares
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. land — ground
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — the Cold War

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