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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: kid · content · hide · stock · bound · stem · cabinet · chair

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bound — tied together
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. content — happy
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. kid — child
  24. chair — a leader

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