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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: stock · fall · board · pitcher · chest · roll · kick · mark

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. chest — a box
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mark — a grade
  13. stock — shares
  14. kick — in football
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. roll — a list
  20. fall — the season
  21. stock — goods
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mark — a trace

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