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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: stick · chair · cue · bark · lie · swing · stock · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. swing — music
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cue — a signal
  6. chair — a leader
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cue — for pool
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cue — a hint
  13. stock — goods
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. swing — to play on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. swing — in golf
  21. lie — to recline
  22. stock — shares
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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