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

Word bank: last · wave · swing · firm · wound · kid · stock · rest

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. firm — steady
  3. rest — a break
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. firm — decided
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. rest — what's left
  8. last — finally
  9. kid — child
  10. wound — an injury
  11. firm — a company
  12. last — final
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stock — shares
  16. last — to go on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. rest — what's left

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