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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: racket · game · bark · march · ruler · field · cold · stock

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. game — a match
  4. stock — goods
  5. game — wild animals
  6. field — for sport
  7. stock — shares
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. march — music
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. march — the month
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. racket — for tennis

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