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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: stock · bark · fork · chest · sharp · bulb · press · rule

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. press — to push
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. press — newspapers
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. rule — a law
  9. press — a publisher
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bark — to shout
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. stock — goods
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. bulb — for light
  24. rule — government

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