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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 116 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: deal · game · stock · face · press · club · bark · mate

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. club — for golf
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. press — a publisher
  9. stock — shares
  10. face — to confront
  11. press — newspapers
  12. game — a match
  13. deal — to handle
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mate — to breed
  16. stock — goods
  17. club — for dancing
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. game — wild animals
  20. club — a group
  21. press — to push
  22. mate — a friend
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. face — to point toward

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