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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: stock · squash · deal · pound · tube · court · staff · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. stock — goods
  5. court — of law
  6. tube — the underground
  7. staff — employees
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. court — for sport
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. tube — a container
  18. stock — shares
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. court — of a king
  22. pound — a weight
  23. deal — to handle
  24. tube — in a tire

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