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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: calf · lash · cold · chest · cap · stock · rock · court

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. stock — goods
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. court — of law
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cap — of ice
  9. court — for sport
  10. cap — a lid
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. court — of a king
  13. stock — shares
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. chest — a box
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. calf — a young animal
  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