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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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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 · cue · tear · straw · kid · hand · stock · present

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. present — a gift
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. tear — to rip
  6. kid — child
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. present — the time now
  9. cue — for pool
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. tear — from crying
  13. present — there
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cue — a signal
  16. hand — help
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. cue — a hint
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stock — shares
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. kid — to tease
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. ruler — for measuring

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