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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 · roll · stock · rule · chair · arm · kick · cold

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — shares
  4. rule — government
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chair — a leader
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. roll — a cake
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. roll — a list
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bark — to shout
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rule — a law

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