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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: dip · stock · bulb · bark · squash · bay · row · shower

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stock — shares
  3. row — a line
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. stock — goods
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bark — to shout
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. bulb — for light
  17. squash — the sport
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bulb — for light
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. shower — rain
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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