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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 120 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 · squash · deal · content · chair · bark · ball · rash

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. content — the amount
  4. squash — to crush
  5. rash — hasty
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chair — a leader
  9. ball — a great time
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. deal — to handle
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. content — happy
  15. rash — a series
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. squash — the sport
  18. ball — a dance
  19. stock — goods
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. stock — shares
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. content — videos and posts

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