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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: bark · wound · bay · stock · roll · court · nail · board

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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. stock — shares
  2. roll — a cake
  3. board — a committee
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. court — of law
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. board — to get on
  12. court — for sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. court — of a king
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stock — goods
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. roll — a list
  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