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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 120 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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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: arm · deal · root · bark · stock · cold · last · snap

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. last — to go on
  3. root — of a plant
  4. stock — goods
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. root — the cause
  7. cold — an illness
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. root — of a word
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. deal — to handle
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — to shout
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. last — final
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. snap — to click
  24. last — finally

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