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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 116 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: last · nail · bat · race · stock · kick · chair · court

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. stock — goods
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. race — a contest
  5. stock — shares
  6. last — to go on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. race — humankind
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. court — for sport
  12. last — final
  13. court — of a king
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bat — the animal
  18. court — of law
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kick — in football
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — finally
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. chair — a professorship

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