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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. branch — a division
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stock — shares
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. fine — high quality
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. fine — all right
  20. kid — child
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. fine — a penalty

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