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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: face · stock · bowl · chair · chest · cap · current · kid

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. kid — child
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. stock — goods
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cap — a hat
  7. chest — a box
  8. face — to confront
  9. cap — of ice
  10. current — of water
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chest — of your body
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. current — electric
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. current — happening now
  19. stock — shares
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. chair — a leader
  23. face — part of the head
  24. chest — of your body

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