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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.

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 · present · chair · rest · chest · wound · ball · track

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chair — a leader
  4. ball — a great time
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. present — a gift
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. chest — a box
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rest — what's left
  21. track — a path
  22. rest — a break
  23. track — a song
  24. stock — goods

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