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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: net · hand · stock · cell · chip · ruler · chest · wind

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. net — for catching
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chip — to eat
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. net — after costs
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. net — in sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. hand — help
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wind — moving air
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. chip — in a computer
  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