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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: kick · cabinet · mug · hand · stock · pit · net · roll

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a cup
  3. roll — a cake
  4. stock — shares
  5. net — for catching
  6. hand — help
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. net — in sport
  9. pit — a hole
  10. hand — in cards
  11. roll — a list
  12. mug — a face
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pit — in a race
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kick — in football
  17. net — after costs
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. stock — goods
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cabinet — ministers

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