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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: straw · calf · stock · band · row · mine · snap · sharp

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. band — a ring
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. stock — goods
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. snap — to click
  17. band — a music group
  18. sharp — clever
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. mine — for digging
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. band — a rubber band

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