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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: fan · present · chair · stock · kid · tube

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. kid — child
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. tube — a container
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. present — a gift
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tube — the underground
  14. kid — to tease
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stock — goods

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