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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: plane · chest · stock · cabinet · saw · wound · land · bear

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. land — a country
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. stock — goods
  12. bear — the animal
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. land — to come down
  19. chest — of your body
  20. land — ground
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chest — a box
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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