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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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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: rush · court · chest · bear · straw · stock · saw · game

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stock — goods
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. court — for sport
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. court — of a king
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. stock — shares
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. chest — a box
  22. court — of law
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. saw — the tool

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