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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stock — goods
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rock — a stone
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rock — music
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stock — shares
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. kid — child
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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