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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: sharp · bark · stock · rule · wound · bat · plane · mark

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bark — to shout
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. stock — goods
  10. rule — government
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. stock — shares
  15. sharp — clever
  16. plane — a tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mark — a trace
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bat — the animal

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