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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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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. squash — to crush
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — ground
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. chest — of your body
  10. land — to come down
  11. stock — goods
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. fork — in a road
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. chest — a box
  18. land — a country
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. hand — help
  21. lean — to bend
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. lean — thin
  24. squash — the sport

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