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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: firm · stock · court · board · pound · chair · hand · cell

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. hand — help
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. court — of a king
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. chair — a leader
  11. firm — decided
  12. court — of law
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. firm — steady
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. firm — a company
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pound — a weight
  22. hand — in cards
  23. board — to get on
  24. court — for sport

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