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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: bark · bat · stock · lean · drill · kid · pitcher · board

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bark — to shout
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. board — a committee
  7. lean — thin
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. drill — army training
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. lean — to bend
  19. drill — the tool
  20. kid — to tease
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. kid — child

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