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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · stock · chair · tear · firm · pop

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — decided
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stock — shares
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pop — soda
  17. firm — steady
  18. cold — an illness

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