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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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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: pound · foot · file · chair · stock · cell · court · cap

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. court — for sport
  5. pound — a weight
  6. stock — goods
  7. chair — a leader
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cell — a phone
  10. file — a document
  11. stock — shares
  12. court — of a king
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cap — a lid
  20. foot — a measure
  21. court — of law
  22. cap — of ice
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cell — in biology

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