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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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. firm — decided
  2. rash — hasty
  3. stock — goods
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. hand — help
  11. rash — a series
  12. content — the amount
  13. bear — the animal
  14. firm — a company
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kid — child
  17. content — happy
  18. roll — a cake
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stock — shares
  22. firm — steady
  23. roll — a list
  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