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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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468
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 · cabinet · stock · pound · field · mark · kid · plane

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stock — goods
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. field — farmland
  9. stock — shares
  10. mark — a grade
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. field — for sport
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. field — a subject
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bark — to shout

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