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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. toast — bread
  3. land — ground
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rest — what's left
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. land — to come down
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cue — a signal
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cue — for pool
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. roll — a list
  18. kid — to tease
  19. roll — a cake
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stock — shares
  22. land — a country
  23. rest — a break
  24. cue — a hint

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