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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 · calf · stock · cold · chair · cabinet · key · squash

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. stock — shares
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. kid — child
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kid — to tease
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chair — a leader
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. key — the most important part
  19. squash — to crush
  20. stock — goods
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. key — for a lock
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. key — in music

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