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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: cell · bark · firm · degree · stock · fork · pitcher · leaves

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fork — in a road
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. degree — an amount
  6. firm — a company
  7. bark — to shout
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cell — a phone
  11. firm — steady
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. firm — decided
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cell — in biology
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. degree — temperature

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