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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. key — in music
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stock — goods
  5. drill — army training
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. key — the most important part
  10. present — the time now
  11. drill — the tool
  12. present — there
  13. stock — shares
  14. key — for a lock
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. present — a gift
  17. bound — obliged
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bound — tied together
  20. drill — a practice
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bound — certain
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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