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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: fan · plane · chest · stock · race · ball · kick · net

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. kick — in football
  3. chest — of your body
  4. plane — a tool
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. race — a contest
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. net — after costs
  14. ball — a great time
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. chest — a box
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. net — in sport
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. race — humankind
  24. net — for catching

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