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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · racket · mug · scale · stock · bark · rash · land

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stock — shares
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. land — ground
  9. rash — hasty
  10. land — a country
  11. mug — to rob
  12. scale — in music
  13. march — music
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. land — to come down
  16. rash — a series
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. march — the month
  20. march — the month
  21. stock — goods
  22. mug — a cup
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mug — a face

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