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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: bear · can · land · snap · face · stock · game · row

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. face — part of the head
  3. can — to be able to
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. land — ground
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. face — to point toward
  9. game — a match
  10. land — to come down
  11. snap — to click
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. can — a tin
  16. stock — shares
  17. land — a country
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. can — a tin
  20. face — to confront
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. game — wild animals
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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