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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 116 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: stock · wave · bay · bat · hand · sharp · swing · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. swing — in golf
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bat — the animal
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stock — goods
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. swing — music
  17. stock — shares
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. hand — help
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. sharp — exactly
  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