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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: cell · face · row · mine · drill · bay · bark · stock

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. face — part of the head
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. face — to point toward
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bark — to shout
  14. drill — the tool
  15. face — to confront
  16. cell — a phone
  17. row — a line
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bay — a horse colour

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