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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · cell · chip · court · bore · stock · lash · wake

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cell — a phone
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. chip — to eat
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stock — goods
  8. court — for sport
  9. wake — a trail
  10. season — in sport
  11. court — of law
  12. bore — to tire
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. stock — shares
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. season — of the year
  17. cell — in biology
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. court — of a king
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. lash — an eyelash

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