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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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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: wound · staff · chest · fan · bore · stock · sharp · band

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. stock — shares
  5. staff — a stick
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. wound — an injury
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. staff — employees
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. staff — employees
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. band — a music group
  20. sharp — clever
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stock — goods
  23. bore — to drill
  24. band — a ring

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