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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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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: cabinet · bark · last · stick · field · stock · wind · rest

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. field — a subject
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. field — farmland
  11. last — final
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. rest — a break
  20. stock — goods
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — shares
  23. field — for sport
  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