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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: bore · cell · fine · stock · spell · bear · bark · date

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. cell — in biology
  5. spell — magic
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bark — to shout
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bore — to drill
  13. stock — shares
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bear — the animal
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fine — all right
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. spell — letters
  21. stock — goods
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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