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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. lean — thin
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bore — to tire
  5. land — to come down
  6. mine — for digging
  7. swing — to play on
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. swing — in golf
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. swing — music
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bore — to drill
  17. lean — to bend
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stock — goods
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. lean — to rest against

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