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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: bear · hand · row · club · present · stock · key · tear

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. stock — shares
  3. present — a gift
  4. stock — goods
  5. hand — in cards
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. hand — help
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bear — the animal
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. key — in music
  13. present — the time now
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bear — the animal
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. key — the most important part
  21. club — for dancing
  22. tear — from crying
  23. present — there
  24. tear — from crying

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