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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: land · branch · rock · key · stock · kid · lean · last

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lean — to bend
  3. kid — child
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. land — a country
  6. key — the most important part
  7. last — finally
  8. rock — a stone
  9. last — to go on
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rock — music
  14. lean — thin
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. land — to come down
  18. last — final
  19. stock — shares
  20. branch — a division
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. land — ground
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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