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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: stock · drill · chest · bark · bass · pop · field · current

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chest — a box
  3. field — farmland
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chest — of your body
  6. current — electric
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. drill — army training
  10. current — happening now
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. field — for sport
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bass — low music
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. pop — soda
  17. current — of water
  18. stock — shares
  19. chest — of your body
  20. field — a subject
  21. stock — goods
  22. pop — music
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pop — to visit

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