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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: stock · bark · pop · cold · roll · bay · spell · squash

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cold — an illness
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pop — music
  12. spell — magic
  13. cold — not warm
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. spell — letters
  16. pop — soda
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. squash — the sport
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. roll — a list
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pop — to visit

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