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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: hand · leaves · track · land · band · lean · court · stock

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — thin
  3. court — of a king
  4. land — to come down
  5. stock — goods
  6. land — ground
  7. track — a path
  8. band — a music group
  9. track — to keep track
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. court — for sport
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. track — a song
  14. stock — shares
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. lean — to bend
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. court — of law
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. band — a ring
  21. hand — in cards
  22. land — a country
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. hand — help

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