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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 120 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: can · stock · chest · kid · race · content · staff · game

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chest — a box
  5. race — humankind
  6. can — a tin
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. stock — goods
  10. game — a match
  11. staff — a stick
  12. game — wild animals
  13. content — the amount
  14. stock — shares
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — happy
  19. race — a contest
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. race — the arms race

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