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

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stock — goods
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — in music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. key — for a lock
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stock — shares
  14. hand — help
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stock — a soup base

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