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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: pit · plane · bark · stock · mine · land · bay · spell

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stock — goods
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. stock — shares
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bark — to shout
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. land — ground
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spell — a short time
  21. plane — a tool
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  24. land — a country

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