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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: bore · bark · rock · fall · stock · tear · snap · rule

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. stock — goods
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rock — music
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rule — a law
  13. bore — to tire
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bore — to drill
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. tear — to rip
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stock — shares
  22. snap — to click
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rock — a stone

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