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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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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: snap · ground · stock · wind · chest · tube · rash · bear

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. chest — a box
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. ground — a position
  8. snap — to click
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rash — hasty
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rash — a series
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. stock — shares
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stock — goods

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