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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: content · firm · stock · hand · lean · wax · rule · bat

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. firm — a company
  4. content — the amount
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hand — help
  8. rule — a law
  9. lean — thin
  10. firm — decided
  11. stock — goods
  12. rule — government
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lean — to bend
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. bat — the animal
  23. hand — in cards
  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