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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: kick · cabinet · mug · wound · stock · chest · wind · drill

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. stock — shares
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. stock — goods
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mug — a face
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chest — a box
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wound — an injury
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. mug — to rob
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mug — a cup
  22. drill — army training
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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