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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. present — a gift
  3. deal — to handle
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rush — hurry
  7. hand — help
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. land — to come down
  10. bark — to shout
  11. land — ground
  12. stock — shares
  13. present — the time now
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. present — there
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. land — a country
  24. hand — part of the body

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