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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: bass · plane · date · ball · land · stock · squash · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bass — the fish
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. date — the fruit
  5. plane — a tool
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bark — to shout
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. squash — to crush
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bass — low music
  20. stock — goods
  21. land — ground
  22. ball — a dance
  23. stock — shares
  24. squash — the vegetable

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