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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 120 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: chair · kid · track · stock · fork · wound · bay · bear

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. track — a song
  5. kid — to tease
  6. track — a path
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — to keep track
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. kid — child
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. stock — shares
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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