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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 · stock · rock · row · fall · club · field · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chair — a leader
  9. kid — child
  10. stock — shares
  11. field — farmland
  12. club — for dancing
  13. field — a subject
  14. row — a line
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — music
  17. club — a group
  18. kid — to tease
  19. club — for golf
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. stock — goods
  23. field — for sport
  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