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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: leaves · rock · lean · field · spell · stock · content · bulb

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. lean — thin
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spell — a short time
  6. rock — music
  7. content — happy
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bulb — for light
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. field — farmland
  15. stock — shares
  16. rock — a stone
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. field — for sport
  19. content — the amount
  20. field — a subject
  21. spell — letters
  22. stock — goods
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rock — to move gently

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