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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: cold · firm · rule · rest · stock · bark · spell · bay

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. stock — goods
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. firm — decided
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. stock — shares
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. rule — government
  19. rest — a break
  20. bark — to shout
  21. rule — a law
  22. firm — a company
  23. spell — a short time
  24. stock — a soup base

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