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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: foot · wind · stock · spring · sharp · coach · can · lash

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. can — a tin
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wind — moving air
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — clever
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wind — moving air
  18. foot — a measure
  19. stock — goods
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. can — a tin
  24. stock — shares

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