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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: bark · bore · fall · wind · plane · kid · stock · fine

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fall — the season
  12. fine — all right
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kid — child
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stock — goods
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bore — to drill

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