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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 120 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: bark · bat · race · tear · row · foot · stock · pound

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. pound — a weight
  3. stock — shares
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stock — goods
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. row — a line
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. tear — from crying
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. race — the arms race
  21. tear — from crying
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. tear — to rip

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