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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stock · arm · straw · rock · chair · pitcher · scale · mine

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. chair — a leader
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. scale — in music
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. stock — goods
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rock — music
  14. scale — size or range
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. rock — a stone
  21. stock — shares
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mine — belonging to me

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