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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 120 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: hide · wound · bat · content · stock · bark · calf · spring

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. spring — of water
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stock — shares
  8. content — the amount
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. spring — the season
  18. content — happy
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. stock — goods
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bark — of a tree

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