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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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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: chest · stock · bound · chip · bowl · snap · court · wound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. stock — goods
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bound — certain
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wound — an injury
  10. chest — a box
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. court — for sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. chest — of your body
  15. snap — to click
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. stock — shares
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. chip — to eat

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