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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: stock · content · arm · kid · bear · bulb · date · shower

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bulb — for light
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bear — the animal
  9. content — the amount
  10. bulb — for light
  11. content — happy
  12. stock — shares
  13. kid — child
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. stock — goods
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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