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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: land · chest · calf · deal · net · ball · stock · track

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. track — a path
  5. net — in sport
  6. ball — a dance
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. net — after costs
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. land — to come down
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. stock — shares
  15. land — ground
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. net — for catching
  18. chest — a box
  19. stock — goods
  20. land — a country
  21. track — a song
  22. ball — a great time
  23. track — to keep track
  24. deal — to handle

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