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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · stock · lean · bound · racket · staff · kid · cold

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bound — tied together
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. lean — thin
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stock — shares
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. staff — a stick
  21. stock — goods
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bound — certain
  24. lean — to bend

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