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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: sharp · bear · game · hide · net · cold · stock · ruler

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stock — goods
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. cold — an illness
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. stock — shares
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. game — a match
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. net — in sport

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