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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: chest · stock · bat · board · row · cue · snap · bear

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chest — a box
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. stock — goods
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — a line
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. snap — to click
  18. board — a committee
  19. cue — for pool
  20. board — to get on
  21. row — to paddle
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bear — the animal
  24. stock — shares

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