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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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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: bark · stock · chest · bear · bat · deal · present · toast

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. present — a gift
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stock — goods
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. toast — bread
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. stock — shares
  17. present — the time now
  18. chest — a box
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bear — the animal
  22. present — there
  23. bear — the animal
  24. deal — to handle

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