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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 120 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: stock · bowl · temple · chest · foot · land · wind · bound

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. stock — goods
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. stock — shares
  7. chest — a box
  8. land — a country
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. chest — of your body
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. wind — moving air
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. wind — moving air
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. land — to come down
  20. chest — of your body
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. stock — a soup base

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