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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: stock · arm · kid · season · tube · ground · cabinet · cell

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. tube — the underground
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. stock — goods
  10. season — of the year
  11. ground — crushed
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. season — in sport
  14. kid — to tease
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. ground — a position
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stock — shares

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