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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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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: kid · stock · tear · spring · fine · date · roll · bear

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. spring — the season
  3. stock — goods
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — high quality
  9. roll — a list
  10. date — the fruit
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. fine — all right
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. kid — to tease
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. spring — of water
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. tear — from crying

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