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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 · chair · kick · ground · cell · bore

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ground — a position
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. bore — to tire
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bore — to drill
  12. stock — goods
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. stock — shares
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kick — in football

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