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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 120 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 · object · bat · kick · cell · bank · race · chair

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. stock — goods
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — humankind
  6. bank — for money
  7. stock — shares
  8. object — to protest
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bank — for money
  12. cell — a phone
  13. race — the arms race
  14. chair — a leader
  15. race — a contest
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. object — an aim
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. kick — in football
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. object — a thing
  24. cell — in biology

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