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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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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: tear · swing · stock · lean · rule · mine

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. swing — to play on
  3. rule — a law
  4. mine — for digging
  5. swing — music
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. lean — thin
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. tear — to rip
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stock — shares

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