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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: last · straw · object · swing · date · stock · lean · bark

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. last — to go on
  4. stock — goods
  5. date — the fruit
  6. object — a thing
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. object — an aim
  10. swing — music
  11. stock — shares
  12. last — final
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bark — to shout
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. swing — to play on
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. object — to protest
  22. lean — to bend
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. swing — in golf

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