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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: stick · bark · chest · stock · rush · rest · mate · cold

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stock — shares
  5. rush — hurry
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stock — goods
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chest — a box
  10. mate — a partner
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rest — a break

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