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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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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 · nail · chest · pitch · stock · racket · plane · race

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. race — the arms race
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. race — a contest
  13. stock — goods
  14. pitch — completely
  15. kid — child
  16. chest — a box
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — to tease
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stock — shares
  24. race — humankind

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