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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: ruler · face · kid · hand · bark · stock · pit · arm

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. hand — help
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. face — to point toward
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. kid — child
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stock — goods
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pit — a hole
  19. face — to confront
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bark — to shout

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