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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: cap · ground · kid · mate · chair · bound · club · stock

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mate — to breed
  3. club — for dancing
  4. ground — a position
  5. club — a group
  6. chair — a leader
  7. club — for golf
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mate — a friend
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stock — goods
  12. bound — tied together
  13. stock — shares
  14. mate — a partner
  15. ground — the earth
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cap — a lid
  18. kid — child
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — obliged
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — of ice

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