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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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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: wound · stock · pitcher · present · bark · key · wake · staff

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. staff — employees
  5. present — a gift
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stock — goods
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. present — there
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. key — in music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. present — the time now
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. staff — employees
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pitcher — a jug

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