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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: nail · root · cell · kid · jam · court · stock · chest

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stock — shares
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. root — the cause
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — child
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. chest — of your body
  15. root — of a plant
  16. chest — of your body
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. court — for sport
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. kid — to tease
  23. root — of a word
  24. chest — a box

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