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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 · stock · capital · wake · bulb · leaves · staff · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. bulb — for light
  4. staff — a stick
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. bulb — for light
  8. land — to come down
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. staff — employees
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stock — goods
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stock — shares
  22. staff — employees
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a city

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