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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. shower — rain
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — a container
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kid — child
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hand — in cards
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. lean — to bend
  22. kid — to tease
  23. stock — shares
  24. hand — help

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