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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: board · stock · racket · drill · kick · arm · wax · cold

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wax — to grow
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. drill — army training
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stock — goods
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — an illness
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. arm — a part of something

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