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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: chair · coach · snap · stock · arm · pop · hand · date

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. snap — to click
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pop — soda
  6. stock — goods
  7. hand — in cards
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pop — music
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chair — a leader
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pop — to visit
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. hand — help
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. stock — shares
  24. coach — a trainer

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