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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · game · hand · kid · bowl · mouse · wave · bark

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. hand — help
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. kid — child
  13. game — a match
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. bark — to shout
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. stock — shares
  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