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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: mate · fan · cell · bound · pop · bark · stock · straw

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bound — certain
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cell — in biology
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. stock — goods
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mate — a partner
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stock — shares
  20. mate — to breed
  21. pop — music
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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