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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 · row · mate · content · field · safe · ruler · bark

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. content — the amount
  4. field — for sport
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mate — a friend
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stock — shares
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mate — to breed
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. mate — a partner
  15. content — happy
  16. field — farmland
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. stock — goods
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. row — a line
  23. field — a subject
  24. bark — to shout

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