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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: bore · board · charge · chest · cue · kid · pound · stock

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cue — for pool
  5. board — a committee
  6. stock — goods
  7. chest — of your body
  8. charge — electricity
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. charge — in control
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stock — shares
  17. bore — to tire
  18. charge — a price
  19. bore — to drill
  20. board — to get on
  21. pound — a weight
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. stock — a soup base

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