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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · bound · pitcher · stock · row · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bound — certain
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bound — tied together
  9. stock — shares
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. row — a line
  14. bound — obliged
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rush — hurry

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