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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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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: row · land · stand · chair · pop · arm · snap · stock

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pop — soda
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pop — music
  10. land — to come down
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stock — shares
  16. row — a line
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. row — to paddle
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. stand — to bear
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. stock — goods

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