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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bore — to tire
  6. stock — shares
  7. stand — to bear
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bore — to drill
  11. kid — child
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cold — an illness
  18. staff — employees
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. fork — in a road
  23. staff — employees
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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