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

Word bank: chip · spell · ground · hand · bound · last · stock · lean

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. stock — goods
  3. spell — letters
  4. last — final
  5. ground — crushed
  6. spell — a short time
  7. chip — for betting
  8. hand — help
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bound — obliged
  15. lean — to bend
  16. last — finally
  17. ground — a position
  18. hand — in cards
  19. chip — to eat
  20. lean — thin
  21. spell — magic
  22. ground — the earth
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bound — certain

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