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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: land · branch · staff · snap · stock · ruler · chest · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. land — to come down
  3. staff — employees
  4. land — a country
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. stock — goods
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. chest — of your body
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. branch — a division
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. land — ground
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. staff — a stick
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. stock — shares
  17. chest — of your body
  18. snap — to click
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. staff — employees
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. chest — a box
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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