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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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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: cabinet · bark · stock · race · swing · snap · march · staff

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. swing — to play on
  3. march — the month
  4. staff — employees
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. race — a contest
  7. march — the month
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. bark — to shout
  12. stock — shares
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. swing — in golf
  15. race — the arms race
  16. staff — employees
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. swing — music
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. stock — goods
  22. march — music
  23. staff — a stick
  24. race — humankind

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