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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: chest · snap · stock · bowl · sharp · cell · board · cap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cap — a hat
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cell — in biology
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. board — a committee
  9. stock — shares
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. cap — of ice
  13. board — to get on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. stock — goods
  24. sharp — clever

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