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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. stock — shares
  3. rest — what's left
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bound — certain
  6. stock — goods
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. bound — obliged
  10. kid — child
  11. rest — a break
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. drill — a practice
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bound — tied together
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. kid — to tease
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. stock — a soup base

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