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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 120 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: hide · cell · hand · stock · chair · drill · bass · tear

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bass — low music
  5. drill — a practice
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stock — goods
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hand — help
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bass — the fish
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. drill — the tool
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. drill — army training
  23. stock — shares
  24. cell — in a prison

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