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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: kid · stock · chair · land · can · rash · march · nail

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rash — hasty
  3. can — a tin
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rash — a series
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. land — to come down
  13. stock — shares
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. chair — a leader
  18. land — ground
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. land — a country
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. march — the month
  24. kid — to tease

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