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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: drill · stock · ground · straw · bound · chair · foot · shower

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. ground — crushed
  3. stock — goods
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bound — tied together
  9. shower — rain
  10. stock — shares
  11. ground — the earth
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. shower — to wash
  14. foot — a measure
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. drill — army training
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. ground — a position
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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