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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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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: stock · shower · race · kick · mug · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stock — shares
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. race — humankind
  7. mug — a cup
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. stock — goods
  11. mug — a face
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mug — to rob
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg

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