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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fork — in a road
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bat — the animal
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stock — goods
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. chest — a box
  22. chair — a leader
  23. stock — shares
  24. chair — a professorship

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