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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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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: kid · race · ruler · stock · tear · chair · lie · craft

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. tear — to rip
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — boats
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. lie — to recline
  11. race — humankind
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. tear — from crying
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. craft — a skill
  21. stock — shares
  22. tear — from crying
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. chair — a leader

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