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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stock — goods
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a leader
  6. last — finally
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bound — obliged
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — decided
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bear — the animal
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wound — an injury
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. bound — certain
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. firm — steady
  21. stock — shares
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bear — to put up with

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