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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: stand · squash · bark · chest · stock · calf · sharp · tube

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. sharp — clever
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. tube — a container
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. stock — shares
  14. chest — a box
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. chest — of your body
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stock — goods
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. tube — the underground
  24. squash — to crush

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