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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: fork · chair · cap · mine · firm · stock · lean · arm

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. lean — thin
  4. firm — steady
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. firm — decided
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cap — of ice
  11. stock — goods
  12. cap — a hat
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chair — a leader
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. firm — a company
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cap — a lid
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. stock — shares
  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