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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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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 · stick · chip · cell · court · kick · spell · face

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. face — to confront
  3. court — of law
  4. stock — shares
  5. spell — a short time
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. face — part of the head
  8. court — for sport
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. court — of a king
  12. spell — magic
  13. stock — goods
  14. spell — letters
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — to eat
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cell — in biology
  22. face — to point toward
  23. kick — in football
  24. cell — a phone

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