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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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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. cap — of ice
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rest — a break
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cap — a lid
  9. snap — to click
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cap — a hat
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. stock — goods
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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