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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: charge · hand · deal · straw · mine · stock · bear · spring

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. stock — goods
  3. charge — electricity
  4. bear — the animal
  5. charge — in control
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. spring — the season
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hand — help
  12. mine — for digging
  13. spring — of water
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. spring — a coil
  18. deal — to handle
  19. stock — shares
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bear — to put up with

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