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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · mouse · pop · dip · chest · chair · key · cold

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stock — goods
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — an illness
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. key — the most important part
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stock — shares
  14. cold — not warm
  15. key — in music
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. pop — music
  20. dip — to sink
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. key — for a lock
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pop — soda

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