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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: arm · band · bark · field · bear · chip · stock · sharp

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. field — farmland
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. field — a subject
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bear — the animal
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stock — shares
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bear — the animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. sharp — clever
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. band — a music group

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