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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stock — shares
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — the cause
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. kid — child
  15. file — a tool
  16. firm — decided
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bat — the animal
  19. firm — a company
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. file — a document
  22. firm — steady
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. root — of a word

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