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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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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. stock — shares
  3. spell — a short time
  4. hand — in cards
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — goods
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. spell — letters
  10. object — an aim
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. object — a thing
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. hand — help
  15. object — to protest
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. game — a match
  20. spell — magic
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. leaves — of a tree

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